Music of Love
by BubblyFanatic
Summary: AU: Sixteen year old Clary Fray is just an ordinary teenage girl with a few secrets. When she meets fiery-tempered Jace in a chance occurrence, their lives change forever. Jace struggles to uncover her secrets and protect her from harm, while Clary realizes that he might be her missing piece. Suddenly, tragedy strikes and Clary is forced to asks herself: Were we ever meant to be?
1. Chapter 1

**Clary's POV**

I almost slipped on the wet linoleum, but caught myself just in time. Grinning, I looked up and met eyes with Mr. Luke Garroway. The man's eyes twinkled.

"Are you alright over there, Clary?" He asked, concerned. I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Of course!"

I can't remember when I started working with Mr. Garroway. He was an avid fisherman and supplied the local marketplace with tons of tasty fish. Because money was tight in my family, I began working with him, and helped him clean and scale the fish. I know what you're thinking: Why would a girl willingly work a job like this? Well, like I said, money was tight. Since I was an only child, it was up to me to take care of my family.

I happily threw the broom in the corner and wiped my hands clean. It was finally Friday afternoon! I waited all week for this moment, and I couldn't wait to relax over the weekend. My mood was even better because it was also Christmas Eve.

"Mr. Garroway," I called, "did you catch any catfish today?" I held my breath—catfish were expensive at our market, partly because fishers had decimated their population a few years ago. However, my mom's favorite fish was catfish. Even though our neighbors really loved eating catfish, my mom was content to place it in a fish tank and watch it swim around.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded, "As a matter of fact, I do! I caught two big ones today. Did you want to bring one home?"

"Yes… I don't have any money on me right now, so can you just take the money out of my salary?"

Mr. Garroway grabbed the catfish and placed it in a plastic bag full of sea water. "Here you go, Clary! Don't worry about the payment; you're just a little sixteen year old girl. You've been working hard all year. Think of this as my Christmas gift to you! Now run along; you should get this fish home within an hour. There's not a lot of oxygen in the bag, and the fish will die if you don't get home fast enough." I took the bag, holding the flopping fish.

"Thanks so much, Mr. Garroway!" I grasped his hand in gratitude, and skipped away. Running down the stairs, I turned the corner, just as the B103 bus was about to leave.

"Wait! Wait!" I screamed, running to catch up. The bus driver stepped on the brakes, allowing me to get on.

"Thanks," I panted breathlessly, checking my fish to see if it was okay. I gave the bus driver an appreciative nod. I rode the bus everyday and constantly tipped the bus driver any extra money I had. He smiled at me before closing the door and continuing on the route.

Finding a seat in the back, I contently set my fish down next to me and relaxed. It usually only took ten minutes to get home; I would definitely be able to bring the fish back before it ran out of oxygen. I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes. It was a long day; first, a busy day at college, and then work. I was exhausted, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Before I could get my beauty rest, the bus driver yelled and slammed his foot on the brakes. The tires skidded, and I bumped my head on the seat in front of me. Everyone was standing up, trying to see what was happening it. With a cry of alarm, I realized that my fish had fallen off the seat and was now rolling to the front of the bus. I scrambled up and raced to rescue the fish. As I picked it up, the bus driver tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, I hate to ask a favor, but could you go down there and ask that guy to get out of the middle of the road?"

Looking up through the window, I realized that a young man—from the looks of it, a rich, wealthy, stuck up heir to a massive fortune—and his girlfriend were yelling at each other. They were in a bright canary yellow Porsche, and the argument had escalated to the point where the man had parked his Porsche in the middle of the road, blocking four lanes of the highway. Cars were everywhere, honking at the insolent man.

Putting my hands on my hips, I unconsciously let out an indignant huff. Rich people were always arrogantly placing themselves in the center of the world. Grabbing my fish, I stormed down the stairs and stepped outside, walking towards the couple.

As I got closer, I heard snippets of their conversation. The girl was whining, "All you need to do is tell me you love me. Once you do that, I'll forgive you for everything."

"Get out of my car, Maia. Get out and stay out."

The girl, Maia, was undeterred. Her curly dark hair bobbed in its ponytail as she shook her head frantically. "Jace! Okay, I know that I shouldn't have gone to the dance with him, but he asked me to go, and I couldn't say no! I'm sorry. I love you."

Jace looked unforgiving and was examining his reflection in the rear view mirror. I stopped in my tracks. He was hot, smoking hot. I quickly shook myself. _Clary, you said you weren't going to fall for wealthy brats, remember?_ He swiped his golden brown hair out of his eyes, and looked around the landscape, meeting eyes with me for a second. I almost gasped: his eyes were golden and glinted in the sunlight.

"Hey, who are you?" He asked, taking in my existence. I gulped. How was I supposed to talk to a sexy god like him and not appear stupid and clumsy?

I slapped myself on the arm. _How dare you think of him as sexy!_ I looked up and saw his puzzled expression.

"Did you just hit yourself…?" He asked questioningly. So much for not appearing stupid.

"Um, no…" I replied awkwardly. Yep, that's me. Socially awkward Clary. Maia was quietly watching our exchange, but now impatiently tapped Jace's shoulder.

"Honey-bear, I said I was sorry. Can we go to the party now?"

Jace turned to her and gave an annoyed sigh. "If we go to the party, then will you leave me alone?"

"Yes!" Maia cheered earnestly. Then, she frowned. "Wait, no… yes? No? What was the question again?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course someone like him would be dating a ditzy girl like this. I suddenly realized why I was talking to them.

"Right, um—" I cleared my throat, trying to get their attention. I almost fainted with Jace's golden eyes focused on me again.

"Well, go on, spit it out!" He demanded.

"Why are you parked in the middle of the road? You're completely blocking the road!" I responded.

He rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, we're having a teeny tiny argument right now. If you could kindly leave us alone so we can have a private talk…"

My fiery temper lit up again. "Well, what am I supposed to do while you have this 'private talk'?"

Jace shrugged. "I don't know, and quite frankly, I really don't care. Just sit there and wait for us to resolve our troubles. When you see Maia get out of the car, I'll drive away."

Maia glared at him, "But Jace honey, I thought you loved me! I love y—"

"Well," I interrupted, "I have to get home as soon as possible. Can't you fight with each other by the side of the road?"

Maia turned to me, scoffing. "Where'd you come from, dirt-face? Are you in a rush to get home, because you have to go pick out some more outfits from the garbage? Honestly, I can't believe you're wearing that!"

I looked down at my tattered jean overalls and crossed my arms. _Not everyone could afford to wear expensive clothing,_ I thought furiously.

"Look, I have this fish, and if I can't bring it home in time, it will die. Would you kill a fish just so you could argue with each other?"

Jace nodded slowly at me. Maia saw his expression and was about to yell at me again, when Jace silenced her with a glare.

"Get out," he ordered. Maia confidently smiled at me.

"That's right, get out!" She chirped.

I rolled my eyes, and internally face-palmed myself. Jace gave Maia another irritated look.

"Maia, I'm talking to you. Get out of my Porsche." She grabbed her Coach handbag and slipped out, stepping onto the dirt in four-inch-tall red high heels.

"Now get in," he commanded to me.

"Why?" I asked defiantly.

"Just do it. Don't you want to get home quickly?"

Sighing, I gave in. I situated myself in the passenger seat. He gave me another look, as if to say _Why are you so stupid? You're almost worse than Maia. _"Get in the driver's seat."

"What?" I asked, confused. He pursed his lips and pushed me over to the driver's seat, and we changed spots.

"You're going to drive the car," he announced cheerfully. His expression changed when I refused to grab the steering wheel.

"Um, I don't—I don't know how to drive," I said, embarrassed.

"Oh please, you look at least sixteen," he retorted.

_Yeah, well, I don't have money to buy a car. Why would I learn to drive if I didn't have a car?_ "So? What's your point?" I argued.

"Well, it's easy…" he said quietly, leaning over and touching my hands on the steering wheel. I could hear Maia's haughty huff, jealous that Jace was so close to me. "You just maneuver around using this." He was getting closer and closer to me, and I could smell the sweet scent of his cologne. He was even cuter up close… His eyes turned to my face. "Why are you so red?" He asked, smirking. I glared at him.

"I'm not! You're just so smelly, and I've been holding my breath so I don't have to breathe in your stink. That's what made my face look red!" I responded quickly. But even I knew that I sounded unconvincing.

"Well, anyways, you want to press your foot on the pedal on the right when I say 'go!', alright?"

I nodded slowly. It made sense. "Alright…"

He shifted his hand and pulled down the gear. It had been next to a big letter "P", but not it was at the letter "R". I was confused. What could "R" stand for?

"GO!" he screamed. The urgency in his voice alarmed me, and I stepped on the pedal as fast as I could.

Terrified, I realized that we were driving backwards. "What do I do?!" I screamed back at him. He threw his head back and laughed.

Suddenly, the sound of metal grinding on metal pierced my ears. I immediately took my foot off of the pedal, and turned around.

Crap. I realized that I had driven backwards, straight into the bus. Glaring at Jace, I realized that he had pulled a huge prank on me.

He tipped his head, still chuckling. "Hello, my name is Jace. Nice to meet you."

The bus driver angrily stomped up to me. "I told you to get him out of the middle of the road, not ruin my bus!"

A wailing siren interrupted me before I could apologize to him. A police officer stepped out, clad in his uniform. "Alright, I've witnessed a crash. I'll be late to the headquarters," he murmured into his walkie-talkie, before approaching me. He flashed his badge, "Miss, I'm going to have to take you down to the station. Don't worry, we're not arresting you, but we have to hold someone accountable for the damages on these two vehicles."

Groaning, I climbed into the backseat of the police car. Jace tumbled in next to me, grinning.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said, smiling wolfishly. I slapped him, holding my fish up.

"If I don't get home within an hour, this fish will die. And so will you. I am going to kill you, Jace," I yelled furiously. He rolled his eyes.

"Honey, I can't even tell you how many girls would be dying to be in your position right now."

And thus began the long ride to the station. It was the most miserable ride of my life.

**A/N: This is my first Mortal Instruments fanfiction, so I hope the first chapter isn't too bad. I'm planning on making this story eventually Clary/Jace, but it's going to take me some time to build their characters up. I came up with this idea last night, and decided to begin writing it out! Please let me know if you think I should continue, or if I should abandon this idea. R&R! If I get positive feedback, I might be able to get the next chapter up in a few days! **

**~BubblyFanatic**


	2. Chapter 2

**Jace's POV**

"So, remind me again, Jace, why did you ask your girlfriend to crash into the bus?"

I glanced at Maia and saw her indignant expression. Hiding a grin, I waited for her reaction.

"Mr. Police Officer," Maia screeched, "_I_ am Jace's girlfriend. Jace would never go out with that piece of rubbish!"

The strange girl—I think the police officer called her Clarissa—also yelled furiously at the police officer.

"With all due respect, sir, I'm not related to that guy in any way! I'm definitely not his girlfriend. I don't even know who he is!" she retorted.

The officer turned to me.

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "Maia isn't my girlfriend. _That_ girl is."

I almost burst out laughing when I saw Maia's eyes grow as round as the moon. "Jace! Jace, baby, we are still together, remember?"

"No," I quickly responded, "I told you that we broke up."

She glared at me, "Well—"

"That's enough!" The police officer groaned, stamping his foot on the ground. "Sheesh. Figure it out yourselves and tell me exactly what happened. I'll be in my office. I have paperwork to fill out, and I don't have time to argue with you kids." He turned and left the room.

"Tell him the truth, Jace! I have to be home in half an hour, or—" Clarissa commanded urgently.

"Or what?" I asked lazily, putting my feet up on the desk. "You can't possibly have anything more important to do than staying out of jail."

She pursed her lips at me, her red hair flopping into her eyes. She brushed her hair away, revealing emerald green eyes. _Hmm… for someone who lacks fashion sense, she has a really pretty face._

"Jace, let me tell you this: you aren't at the center of the world. You may think that we all exist to serve you, Mr. High and Mighty, but guess what? _We don't!_ Now go tell the police officer that we are strangers, and I have no part in today's car accident."

I grinned at her. _Oh please, it's my job to make other people's lives more difficult._ "Please don't forget that you were the one who drove the car into the bus."

She huffed at me, and stomped to the police officer. "Officer, we have figured everything out. I am not Jace's girlfriend, and he is the one responsible for the crash."

"Hey!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. This red-haired girl was full of surprises.

The officer stepped out, satisfied. "Alright, Jace, I'm afraid I'm going to have to sentence you to a week in the county jail."

"Hold up!"

We turned to see a fat, chubby man rush into the room, carrying a briefcase. _Oh, please…_ I thought, annoyed.

The man shot daggers at me before turning to the police officer. "Officer, my name is Richard Greene, and I am Jace's lawyer. You see, there's only onereason he was involved in the accident today: he is psychologically ill. Jace has 'derealization disorder', which is a neurological disease in which the patient's environment appears to be lacking in spontaneity. Actually, interoceptive exposure often induces derealization disorder, and…"

I quickly zoned out. Richard was my father's right-hand man. Since I was always "getting into trouble", Richard's degree in law helped him talk me out of jail in situations like this.

A few minutes later, everything was resolved. The officer was willing to let the matter go, as long as I paid for the damages. That wasn't a big issue for my parents, Maryse and Robert Lightwood. Our family was rich enough to pay our way out of all of the trouble I caused.

Just as I strode out of the door, a feminine voice called me back.

"Hey!" Clarissa shouted, running towards me. "Hey, you!"

"I have a name," I replied coolly. She simply shook her head.

"To be honest, I don't really care. Anyways, you killed my catfish. Look!" She raised the bag up into the air, waving it frantically.

I glared at her, feeling furious. Impulsively, I reached forward and grabbed the fish, tossing it into the nearest trashcan.

"Stop caring about your fish, and start worrying about yourself. Here," I replied, tossing $100 at her, "use this money and go buy yourself nicer clothing."

She shoved the money back at me. "I don't want your money, Jace!"

"Didn't you just say that you didn't care about my name?" I responded mildly, taking in her angry expression before leaving in my limousine. _Note to self: annoy her the next time you see her. She's awfully cute when she's mad._

**Clary's POV**

Cautiously, I peered into the house, closing the creaky wooden door behind me. I didn't know what to expect after killing the catfish.

"I see you," a gruff voice said coldly. I jumped, before turning around and seeing my father.

"Where's the fish that your mom asked for?" He asked slowly, his eyes glaring down at me.

Shaking, I held his gaze. "I-I-I d-didn't get h-h-home in t-t-time, and it d-died on the way here."

Before I could react, his hand slapped me across the face. My cheek stung as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Don't make any more mistakes, worthless child," he muttered before stalking away. I took one look at his vanishing silhouette and ran, sprinting away as far as possible from home. My feet slapped against the concrete. Looking up, I realized that I had arrived at the Beethoven Bridge at the outskirts of town. I sat down by the bridge and hugged my knees. As rain began to pour down, I burst out crying. Flashbacks hit me as my sorrow deepened.

"_Clary, honey," he said, holding my hand. "Happy 7__th__ birthday!"_

_My Mommy, Jocelyn Fairchild, handed me a little doll with red pigtails. "Happy birthday, Clare-bear!"_

_I giggled, "Thanks Mommy, thanks Daddy! I love you guys so much!" The three of us held hands as we skipped across the park. _

"_Clary, I'm going to go to that bakery across the street and buy you a cake, okay?" Daddy said gently, giving me a hug. _

_I nodded, watching him run ahead. I turned to Mommy and helped her get up. "Come on, Mommy! Let's go follow Daddy!"_

_We both walked forward and saw Daddy. He was about to cross the busy intersection._

"_Daddy!" I screamed, trying to get his attention. He was halfway across the street when he heard me. He turned to me._

"_Daddy, I want the chocolate cake!"_

_He nodded, before a black SUV swerved and knocked into Daddy. He flew onto the trunk and rolled over on the grass._

"_Daddy, no!" _

I shuddered from the memory. Before I could help myself, the events from the past few years all flooded back to me.

"_Honey," Mommy said, her voice cracking. "Daddy was in debt before he died, and we no longer have the money to support ourselves. Clare-bear, we need to be strong." She packed up a suitcase and grabbed my hand._

"_Mommy, I'm hungry," I said quietly, as we walked together on the streets._

"_I know, me too," she responded gently, "but we have no money to buy food."_

"_Mommy, look! There's a pizza parlor!"I yelled happily, dragging her towards the store._

"_Clare-bear, we have no money, we can't—"she said, before being interrupted by a voice._

"_What are you two young ladies doing all alone?" A tall, muscular man asked curiously._

_Mommy shrank away from him. "Just passing by," she responded._

"_Don't be scared. My name is Valentine Morgenstern, and I'm the owner of this restaurant. If you'd like, you can eat here tonight."_

_Mommy hesitated, before nodding. "Thank you. Come along, Clare-bear. We're eating pizza tonight."_

_Cheering, I hugged her. "Thank you, Mr. Valentine. Can I have some cheese pizza? That's my favorite, you know."_

I couldn't stop the tears from coming.

_Donned in an elegant white gown, Mommy gave Valentine a charming smile. The pastor behind her held up the Bible._

"_Do you, Jocelyn Fairchild, take Valentine Morgenstern to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?"_

"_I do." _

_I watched as Mommy kissed Valentine, crying tears of happiness._

But Valentine was never the man he appeared to be. Unlike Daddy, Valentine constantly hit me when I made mistakes. An alcoholic, he was violent and he slapped me when he was in one of his drunken rages.

"Hey," someone said, resting a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Jace. _Why am I so unlucky today? What a terrible day, all caused by this stuck-up brat who killed my catfish._

Before I could yell and take out all of my anger on him, he spoke. "Are you okay?" He asked gently. He wore a black suit and held an umbrella.

I let out a bitter chuckle. "Do I look okay?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Um… no?"

I furiously wiped my tears away. "Sorry, you shouldn't see me like this."

He held his umbrella over my head and sat down next to me. "You shouldn't be afraid of crying in front of me."

"You're a complete stranger," I said, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "I almost got thrown in jail today because of you. Oh and, you're ruining your suit." I raised an eyebrow at his soaking wet tuxedo.

Jace shrugged, his gold eyes sparkling. "I'm supposed to go to a fancy fundraiser today, but, you know, I'd rather see my father's expression when he sees my ruined suit."

His eyes bore into me, before he said quietly, "I've lived in this town my whole life, but I've never seen you before."

"I don't suppose rich people like you have time to wander around the districts where I live."

He rolled his eyes as if to say, "Whatever, I don't want to argue with you."

A few minutes passed as I listened to the rhythmic pitter-patter of the raindrops.

"Do you know the name of the bridge we're standing on?" He asked suddenly.

"Of course, the Beethoven Bridge."

"Beethoven was a talented composer. One of his most well-known pieces is Fur Elise," he explained thoughtfully, before continuing.

"It's rumored that Beethoven wrote that song for a lady named Elise. Beethoven was in love with Elise, even though she had rejected his proposal for marriage. And yet, he still wrote her that song and played it for her. All he wanted was for her to be happy. Even though everything was against him, he was still optimistic and persistent. He wrote her that song and moved on."

A moment of silence shrouded our conversation and the rain slowly stopped.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked curiously.

He stood up, grabbing my arm and pulling me up with him. "Clarissa, I don't know why you're crying, but remember Fur Elise. Even though things might seem bleak for you right now, all you need to do is persevere. Things will become better."

I gazed into his eyes and was captivated by their vibrant gold color. He was staring right at me, and seemed as if he was looking into my soul.

"Well, I need to go home and get changed before I catch pneumonia. Do you want a ride home?" He asked suddenly.

I shook my head. His words brought me down to earth. "Um, no. Thanks."

He handed me the umbrella, "Take this, just in case it starts raining again."

Whirling, he slipped back into his car and sped off. Holding his umbrella, I slowly treaded home.

_It seems as if… Jace isn't a cold-hearted sexy beast after all. He seems to have feelings and he acted like he genuinely cared for me._

Then I shook myself. "Sexy beast?" I muttered. "Clary, what are you thinking?" Striding confidently, I walked home. Just like Jace said, life will become better. It will.

**Well, what do you guys think? Don't worry, I don't intend to write an angsty story. Clary has a rough family life, which is going to play a big part in Clary and Jace's relationship. Oops, don't want to give too much away! :) How do you guys like the story so far? I tried to get this chapter up faster, but school kept me busy. I have finals next week, so I might not be able to update. Thanks for reading, and please review and let me know what you think! **

**Oh, and on a second note: It's finally June! Happy summer everybody!**

**~BubblyFanatic**


	3. Chapter 3

**Clary's POV**

I smoothed out my "Peace, Love, Happiness" tank top and put it on, looking at myself in the mirror. The catchphrase might have been a little old, but it reminded me of Jace's words. _Be happy, Clary!_ I repeated to myself, before heading to school.

I picked my college classes this year carefully. After all, juggling two part-time jobs made it hard to do all of my schoolwork on time. I only had classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I could spend Tuesdays and Thursdays working in the college cafeteria. I was in charge of handing the disgusting, lumpy mystery meat to the poor college kids.

Tying a flowery apron around my waist, I put on some latex gloves and began handing out food. I quickly settled into a routine: grab a tray, dump a loaf of mystery meat, hand it to customer, and repeat. An hour into my shift, however, something stopped my routine. As I was trying to hand a tray to someone, they wouldn't take it. Looking up, I gasped when I saw that it was Jace.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, surprise written all over his face.

"I should be asking you the same thing," I responded, raising an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to take the meat or not?"

He made a face. "That's supposed to be meat?"

I stifled a giggle before nodding.

"Yo, Jace, my home-boy… what's the hold up?" A raven-haired guy appeared, questioning Jace.

"Sebastian," Jace acknowledged, clearly irritated. "Why are you here?"

"Um, dude, I'm waiting in line, except you haven't taken your meat yet, and the rest of us are starving. Hurry up and keep moving!"

"Woah," I said loudly, trying to ease the tension. "You don't have to be so eager. There's plenty of mystery meat for everyone!" Sebastian broke into a grin.

"Hey, sexy," he said, winking. "My name is Sebastian, but you can call me… tonight."

I rolled my eyes at his lame pick-up line. Before I could respond, Jace was clutching Sebastian's shirt.

He muttered something that only Sebastian could here. I watched in shock as Sebastian's eyes widened as he saucily replied to Jace's remark. Before I knew what was happening, Jace had Sebastian in a headlock, and was punching him repeatedly.

I scrambled out of the kitchen and tried to pull Jace off of Sebastian.

He glared at me with a furious expression. "This doesn't involve you, Clary. Go serve the rest of the line while I teach this guy a lesson."

"No," I responded, giving him a steely look. "Get off him."

Jace glared at me before softening. A few punches later, he stopped. "Fine. Clary saved you this time, Sebastian, but next time, I swear I'm going to beat the heck out of you."

He stormed off, his blond hair messier than ever. Hotter than ever. My dreamy thoughts evaporated as I watched him blow kisses towards a girl, and hug another girl as he walked away. What a player.

Turning back to Sebastian, I offered him my hand. He gladly took it, and stood up. He had a bruise on one cheek and black eye, but otherwise looked fine.

"Want me to call the nurse?" I offered.

"Nope, just remember to call me, alright?" He smiled cheekily, before grabbing a lunch tray and running out the door.

Rolling my eyes, I raced back to the kitchen and served the rest of the college students. A few minutes later, I felt a pleasant spark of surprise as I realized that Jace had called me "Clary". He usually called me "Clarissa", but he had shortened it to "Clary" today. The last person to call me Clary was my dad.

**Jace's POV**

I couldn't explain the rage that filled me when Sebastian was flirting with Clary. I could feel my hands tightening into fists as he winked at her. Before I could realize what I was doing, I had a fistful of his t-shirt in my hand.

"Don't you dare flirt with her ever again," I hissed, spitting into Sebastian's face. Sebastian looked shocked, before an arrogant expression danced across his face.

"Hmm… did badass playboy Jace fall in love with the serving girl? For a girl like her, she sure is hot. Let me tell you this, Jace: I will flirt with whoever I want."

And that was the last straw. I was punching Sebastian's face so hard, I could hear the bones in my knuckle crack over and over again.

Clary's arm rested on my shoulder as she tried to pull me off Sebastian. I glared at her, but something about her green eyes melted my anger. Somehow, she managed to convince me to let go of Sebastian.

I was stomping away angrily when I realized how my tantrum would appear to all of the spectators in the cafeteria. It probably looked like I liked Clary… which was most certainly _not_ the case!

Just to make sure no one got the wrong idea, I searched the crowd for girls that I knew. Seeing Angelina, I blew her a kiss. "Love you, baby." Then, turning to Sasha, I enveloped her in a warm hug. "Call me!"

Strutting out of the cafeteria, I felt like the king of the world. Seeing Sebastian's furious face only added to my happiness. He would probably try to get me back for humiliating him, but I would be ready for him. Or so I thought.

* * *

A few days later, I totally forgot about the Cafeteria incident, when my buddy, Alec, found me after my Chemistry class.

"Dude, Jace," he yelled urgently, looking frazzled. He quickly lowered his voice. "Sebastian wants to challenge you to a hockey game."

"What?" I responded dumbly. I was the captain and star goalie of the school hockey team and skated faster than anyone else at the school. It made no sense that Sebastian would want to challenge me. Then again, he was the captain of the team before I transferred to this school. I replaced him as captain, and he probably has never forgotten it.

"Well, he still thinks that you're only the captain of the team because your dad's the principal of the school," Alec explained.

Rolling my eyes, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and began walking to the parking lot. "Like I said, I don't need to beat him again."

"I don't know, Jace. He said that he would be able to convince you to accept his challenge."

Right on cue, my cell phone rang. "Mr. Hot Stuff here," I greeted with a smirk.

"Jace, it's me, Sebastian," the voice replied coldly.

"You didn't need to tell me, I'd recognize your terrible, raspy voice anywhere."

I could almost imagine Sebastian's sneer.

"Well. Planning on accepting my challenge?"

"Never."

"Well," Sebastian replied gleefully, "I have something that might change your mind. Talk to him, sugarcake."

"Jace! Jace, help me!" a voice screeched frantically. I froze, dead in my tracks. It sounded like… it couldn't be…

"Jace? Are you still there? Did you hear Clary beg for you to save her?" Sebastian taunted.

I could feel my blood rushing through my veins as I threw my phone to Alec. "I'm going to the rink. Tell the guys that I won't be able to go to the movies today."

I barely stopped to see Alec nod in agreement before I sprinted off to the hockey rink. Just my luck; it was on the other side of campus. I almost slipped in the wet grass as I ran, but I kept Clary's face in my mind. _Don't worry, Clary. I'm coming._ I couldn't trust Clary with Sebastian. If I didn't make it to the ice rink in time, he might hurt Clary.

Pushing my muscles to go faster, I ran past the baseball field. It passed in a blur.

Eventually, I arrived at the rink. I gasped when I took in my surroundings. Clary's arms and legs were bound with rope as she sat in hockey goal. Sebastian and his gang were lined up, ready to shoot pucks into the goal and hit Clary.

"Stop!" I yelled, panting as I stepped into the rink.

"Well, look who decided to show up. And not a moment too soon either," Sebastian announced.

"What do you want?" I asked venomously, stealing a glance at Clary's terrified expression.

"I want to challenge you. I want to prove that I'm better than you."

"You'll never be better than me," I responded.

"So you accept the challenge?"

"Depends on what the challenge is."

"Well, aren't you supposed to be the 'star' goalie? Since little Miss Clarissa is sitting over there, you might want to protect her. After all, she looks pretty vulnerable. In the meantime, my friends and I will be shooting the pucks at you guys…"

I was about to nod and agree, before Sebastian went on.

"…the only catch is, you don't get to wear any equipment."

I froze. Hockey was a dangerous sport. The pucks flew around rapidly, and getting hit with one was sure to result in a serious bruise or broken bone. I hesitated, wavering over my options.

"Then again, if you don't agree," Sebastian said, "we'll just have to continue with practicing our shots… with Clary sitting right there in the goal."

I could hear Clary's gasp, even though we were standing far from each other.

"No! Jace! Don't listen to him! He won't hurt me! Run, run away!" She screamed, her red hair falling out of her ponytail.

No matter what, I couldn't let her get hurt.

"Alright, I accept your challenge, Sebastian."

Clary's eyes widened. "No! What are you doing?! You still have time to run away! Go! Run away, Jace!"

I strapped on my ice skates and strolled onto the ice, maintaining a confident facade. It was so weird skating without my protective pads. For a second, I was worried about getting hit with pucks, but I quickly shook it out of my mind. There was no use stressing over something that was inevitable. I took my position in front of Clary.

She angrily tried to push me off the ice, but since her arms and legs were bound, she couldn't make me move.

"Get off the ice, stupid! Are you trying to get hurt?" She cried angrily, shooting daggers at me.

"Chillax, princess," I replied dryly, even though I felt warm knowing that Clary was worried for me.

"Jace, why would you… and I thought you were smart too! Get off the ice right now, or I swear, I will kill you, even if Sebastian doesn't! Jace Wayland, I'm—"

I quickly interrupted her. "Shut up, Clary."

She glared at me, but stopped talking.

"Jace!" Sebastian yelled. "Are you ready?"

I looked around. With a feeling of dread, I realized that I had nothing that I could use to block the pucks, except for my own body. Mustering confidence, I nodded.

"I was born ready, crapface!"

Sebastian sent his buck reeling towards me. I focused on the puck, and blocked it with my knees. A jolt of pain shot up my legs. The pain reminded me that I didn't have protective pads to help me. Wincing, I turned around to Clary, checking to make sure she's okay.

"Careful! He's shooting a puck right now! Aren't you going to turn around to watch it?" she warned. I shook my head.

"I have to protect this handsome face, don't I?" I smiled, cracking a joke. In reality, I had my back towards Sebastian so I could protect Clary better by absorbing the shots with my back. Sebastian's next shot came spiraling in and dislodged my right shoulder blade.

"Gahhh," I groaned, wincing in pain. Clary's eyes widened. Another puck hit me in my lower back, and I couldn't help but yell out in pain. A tear dripped from Clary's green eye as she began to cry.

"Loosen these ropes," she ordered, gesturing towards the thick ropes that tied her arms and legs.

Numbly, I began to loosen them. I started losing feeling in my back as puck after puck hit me. With the last rope untied, I relaxed my grip on Clary and closed my eyes, bracing myself for the next shot.

It never came. I heard Clary's short gasp of pain and I opened my eyes. She had leapt out of the goal and sprawled her small body over my back, blocking the puck from hitting me. Blood began soaking through her shirt, and her breaths came in small heaves.

Sebastian saw the blood and motioned for his friends to leave. Giving us a final glance, he raced away.

I turned Clary so that she was lying on her stomach, and I ripped open the back of her shirt. Sebastian's puck had cut a long gash across her back, and it was bleeding like crazy. Quickly, I took off my shirt and held it on Clary's injury. As I applied pressure to her back, I became increasingly aware of the bruises covering my back. My whole back was now an interesting blur of blue, black, purple, and green.

"Clary, are you alright?" I asked worriedly, turning my attention back to her.

"Mmph" she muttered, before closing her eyes. Before I could carry her to the nurse, I felt myself getting light-headed. The pain was starting to overcome my consciousness. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alec running towards me.

"Oh my god, Jace, what happened? Don't worry, I'll get you to the nurse right now!"

"Don't forget about… Clary…" I whispered, before blacking out.

**I managed to write this throughout the week, despite my finals, just for you guys :) So... things are heating up. Let the drama begin! ****It'd make me super happy if you guys left a review or two.** As always, feel free to give me any comments or suggestions that can help make this story better. Hope you guys are enjoying your summer/last few days of school!

**~BubblyFanatic**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! I personally don't like putting author's notes at the top of the chapter, but I wanted to let you guys know that I have something fairly important to tell you guys at the bottom of this chapter!**

**Clary's POV**

A harsh white light tickled my eyelids. Wincing, I slowly blinked and opened my eyes. _Where am I?_

Looking around, I noticed a slumped figure in the corner.

"Hey…" I called uncertainly, wondering who it was. The messy blond head twitched before looking up. It was Jace.

"Clary?" he asked hesitantly, before his eyes lit up with relief. "Thank god you woke up. I was beginning to think you were seriously injured."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Jace Wayland, were you worried about me?"

"No! No, definitely not!" He responded quickly. "I was just um… concerned about your injury."

A wave of disappointment hit me as I nodded. "Oh, I see." _Wait… what injury?_ I searched around my body, before my fingers touched a long, bloody gash on my back.

"Ouch," I muttered.

"Are you okay?!" Jace asked urgently, running to my side.

"Yeah… it's just a little sore."

"Oh, that's good. It looked pretty bad yesterday."

"Yesterday?" The memories suddenly came rushing back as I remembered everything. Jace had risked his life to save me from Sebastian. But why? And… "Jace, you saw my injury?"

"Well, yeah…"

My eyes suddenly narrowed at him. The injury covered my whole back, meaning that Jace must have had to take off my shirt in order to care for my injury.

"What else did you see?" I demanded.

"N-n-nothing…" Jace's cheeks flushed red as he realized what I was implying. Then his eyes turned steely. "I didn't see anything, because there was nothing to see!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

We stood there glaring at each other, until Jace slumped back into his chair in defeat. He was about to say something, before he winced.

"Are you okay?" I couldn't help but worry about him, even though he had just insulted me.

"Yeah," he replied shortly, rubbing his back gently.

A sudden thought occurred to me. "Jace, did you get hurt yesterday too?"

"Gee, I don't know…" he responded sarcastically, "I got hit with twenty hockey pucks going at least 80 miles per hour."

"Let me see," I commanded, ignoring his comment. I gestured for him to sit on the hospital bed with me. Thankfully, he complied.

I lifted up his t-shirt a few inches, and gasped. The small of his back was covered in purple bruises. Dreading what other injuries he might have, I shakily turned back to Jace.

"Take off your shirt so I can see the rest of your back."

"Wow, Clary, you sure want our relationship to move quickly. I've only known you for a few days, and you already want me to strip for you?" Jace joked.

I glared at him and slapped his back. I didn't hit him very hard, but he writhed in pain. He gingerly took off his t-shirt, revealing multiple bruises everywhere. His back was filled with black blotches, and his right shoulder was swollen and green.

I gulped, before running to the nearest sink and throwing up. _Oh my god…_I took a deep breath before turning back to him.

A tingling feeling behind my eyes told me that I was about to cry. My eyes began to water and tears began to drop down. I stared into Jace's beautiful face, my vision blurring. "Jace…" I murmured quietly, before embracing him in a hug, being careful not to hurt his back.

**Jace's POV**

I was lost in Clary's shiny green eyes when she suddenly startled me by hugging me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my chest. Surprised, I sat there like an idiot before realizing what was happening. I gently wrapped my arms around her. The warmth of her body melted away the throbbing pain in my back.

My chest felt wet, and I realized that she was crying. "Clary, what's wrong?" I asked, completely bemused.

"I-I," she answered, hiccupping, "I didn't realize that you got so hurt trying to protect me. No one's ever… no one has ever done anything like this for me. Th-th-thank you, Jace."

"I'm okay, Clary, don't worry," I said, trying to comfort her. _I would do anything for you._

She didn't respond, but simply hugged me tighter.

_Is this what love feels like?_ I've definitely hugged other girls before, but I have never felt this feeling before.

"Ahem…" someone cleared their throat. Turning, I saw the school nurse standing in the door way. Looking down, I awkwardly realized that I was shirtless and Clary and I were involved in a tight embrace.

I nudged Clary and she looked up, seeing the nurse.

"Oh!" she exclaimed softly, turning a bright shade of cherry red. She quickly loosened her arms from my neck and sat up, flustered.

The nurse grinned at us. "Should I leave and give you guys some private time?"

"N-no! We weren't doing anything!" Clary shouted, turning even redder. The nurse's smile grew.

"Mhm," she replied, sounding unconvinced. "Well, I honestly hate to break the romantic mood you kids have established here, but Jace, Principal Lightwood wants to speak with you."

"Alright," I responded, watching the nurse leave. Yuck. My father wanted to speak to me again.

"The principal wants to speak to you?" Clary asked curiously.

"Yeah. He's my father," I responded shortly. "Clary, I'll see you around." As much as I didn't want to leave Clary, I'd be in huge trouble if I didn't listen to my dad. I sat up and pulled my shirt over my head, before slipping into my shoes. Before I could think about what I was doing, I kissed Clary on the head.

I was out the door in a flash. _Jace Wayland, what in the world are you thinking?!_ Rolling my eyes, I quickly made my way to the Principal's office.

Barging in, I took a seat in a leather chair in front of the desk. My father didn't even look up from his newspaper.

"I thought I told you to knock before coming into my office."

"Oops," I sneered, glaring at him.

He simply ignored me and handed me the newspaper. "Do you want to explain why you convinced a poor girl to drive your Porsche into a public bus?"

I pretended to think for a minute. "Nope."

He held my gaze before sighing. "Jace, I know you're still mad at me about your grandfather. But it's time you let that go."

_No. Never._ _Nothing can fix our rocky relationship._

Ever since I was born, my best friend was my grandfather. His name was Michael Wayland. I loved him so much that I threw tantrums until my father let me change my name from Jace Lightwood to Jace Wayland. My grandfather was a concert pianist and always played music for me. My favorite was Beethoven's Fur Elise. But when I was seven, he fell ill. He developed epilepsy and had constant seizures. The doctors instructed my father to accompany him at all times, and administer medication every time my grandfather had a seizure.

I still remembered that fateful night.

_My father had decided to go out partying with his friends. My grandfather had a seizure, but there was no one to help him. My seven-year-old self cried out when I saw my grandfather stagger and begin to convulse._

"_Daddy, daddy!" I screamed, but quickly realized that my father wasn't at home. I raced to his bedroom and found an invitation for a "Men's Night Out" at the nightclub near our house. I put on my sneakers and sprinted the two mile distance, trying to find him._

_I saw him at the bar. He was incredibly drunk and tipsy. "Daddy, grandpa needs your help!" I yelled, frantically trying to drag him home._

"_Not now, Jace. Can't you see that I'm out with my buddies?"He slurred._

"_Daddy! Grandpa really needs help!"_

_He simply sighed at me, as if I was too little to understand anything. "Richard, can you take Jace home please?"_

_Richard nodded. "Come along, Jace. Let's go."_

"_No! Daddy! Grandpa needs you! Daddy!" I screamed._

_When my father came home that night, still recovering from his drunk state, he found grandpa lying on the ground. He wasn't breathing. We rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late._

You can't blame me for hating my father. "Let's cut to the chase. You probably need me for something, don't you?" I asked in an acerbic tone.

"Jace, simply put, our college is currently in a financial crisis, and—"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't see what this has to do with me."

He pursed his lips, before continuing. "We are trying to find ways to relieve this crisis. The administration board and I have decided to demolish the Music Hall and build an indoor gym in its place. This would improve our school's sports teams and physical education, which would encourage more athletes to come to our college. Additionally, the city's basketball team would also pay us so that they can practice here. I want you to oversee the demolition process."

I blanched. The Music Hall was where my grandfather used to play piano. "No. I won't help you, and I definitely will not let you demolish the Music Hall."

"Jace, like I said, you need to forget the past and move on."

"No," I responded firmly. "You can't demolish it. There's no way I'm going to let you touch the Music Hall."

We stared at each other for a long time. I could see my father begin to give in. He acknowledged my stubborn expression. "I'll try to think of another way," he said, sighing. "But if there is no other plan, then I'm going to have to destroy the Music Hall."

Glaring at him, I stood up. "Over my dead body."

I pushed open the door and stalked out before he could respond.

_Where could Clary be?_ I wondered. She always brightened up my day, and since I was in such a bad mood after talking to my father, I really wanted to find her. Meandering around campus, I stopped when I saw her walking along the sidewalk near the baseball field.

A tall guy approach her. He looked really familiar... Racking my brain for his name, I suddenly remembered: it was Simon Lewis. He had just transferred to our college a month ago, and my father had asked me to take him for a campus tour.

He engaged Clary in light conversation, and Clary happily talked with him. I knew what it looked like when guys were interested in a girl. After all, I was Jace, playboy extraordinaire. And it was absolutely obvious that this Simon guy had a huge crush on Clary.

"Hey Clary," I called, feigning surprise. "What are you doing here?"

She turned to me and her eyes widened. "Aren't you supposed to be talking to the Principal?"

I shrugged before turning to Simon. Pretending to forget his name, I tapped my temple slowly. "Hello, you look oddly familiar…"

He nodded cheerfully. "I'm Simon Lewis, nice to meet you. You're Jace Wayland, right? The Principal's son? You took me for a campus tour a few weeks ago."

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at his cheerfulness. Why was he so happy and talkative? "Anyways, Clary, it's getting late. I'll walk you to your dorm."

"Um, I don't live in the school dorms. I live at home with my parents… because of our, um, financial situation," she replied, embarrassed.

"Oh. That's okay. Come on, let's go." I gently pulled her along. I felt a small twinge of satisfaction as I turned around and saw Simon's disappointed expression. _Sorry, but you're not allowed to hit on my girl, _I thought smugly, before thinking, _Wait, Jace, since when is Clary your girl?_ I pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on Clary. She was carefree and happily skipped forward.

"I thought that only little girls liked to skip," I teased.

"You're never too old to be happy," she responded.

We arrived at her house too quickly, and she took out her keys.

"Thanks for walking me home."

I just nodded, trying to look cool.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said, piquing my interest. "Bend down, I have to tell you something."

Curious, I bent down so that my ear was level with her mouth. Expecting her to tell me a secret, she surprised me again by kissing me on the cheek.

"Bye Jace!" she called, as she walked into her house.

I couldn't help but grin as I sauntered back to the dorms.

_I love you, Clary._

**Sorry for this chapter; I know it's kind of rushed! I wanted to get this chapter out, because I have something big planned for the next chapter. It involves the two little lovebirds, of course! 3 **

**As for the important message: Before I say anything, I want to let you guys know that I started this story purely because I love writing. Although reviews _always_ brighten up my day and definitely encourage me to update faster, ultimately, I don't write for reviews; I write because I love writing. Now that _that's_ out of the way, I can continue with my message. So recently my best friend (a fellow Fanfiction writer) and I decided to hold a little contest to see who's story was more popular. She decided that whichever story got more reviews would be the more popular one. Furthermore, the loser has to treat the winner to pizza... and I love pizza! The contest ends when both of us finish our stories.**

**So I just wanted to ask you guys for a little help :) If you like my story, feel free to review! As always, constructive criticism is welcome as well.**

**On another note: I'm finally done with school! We just started summer vacation, so I can update more frequently. Thanks for all the support, it absolutely makes my day when I get reviews and story favorites. :)**

**~BubblyFanatic**


	5. Chapter 5

**Clary's POV**

The next week was as boring as ever. Jace was always on my mind, but I hardly saw him around campus. He was always busy at hockey practice or hanging out with his guy friends. Since Jace was majoring in law, and I was majoring in accounting, we didn't have any classes together either. However, I saw Simon more and more often. He told me that he was also planning on going into law, but decided to switch into accounting because his uncle was an accountant... or something like that. To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention.

"Clary?" Simon nudged me. "Were you listening?"

_No. _"Um, yeah!" I responded, faking my enthusiasm. I felt guilty about thinking of Jace while I was talking to Simon.

"So, what do you think?" _About what?_

Sheepishly, I ventured a hopeful response, "I think it's pretty good."

Simon's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Mhm," I replied. "Definitely." Even though I had no idea what I was talking about.

"Well, that's good to know. I'll buy you some tomorrow," he declared cheerfully. I nodded absentmindedly and looked up. We had arrived at my house.

"Thanks for walking me home every day this week."

"No problem, Clary!" He grinned, before walking away. I looked into the horizon and saw that the sun was just about to set. Running a hand through my hair, I frowned. I still had to make dinner for my mother and step-father. My step-father would be absolutely furious if I didn't have dinner ready by the time he returned from work.

Racing into the kitchen, I quickly began dicing tomatoes. Today would be a pasta night. As I chopped up onions, I accidentally knocked over a rack of spices. They clattered to the floor with a big crash.

"Clumsy, useless, girl," Valentine growled, stepping into the room. "Why isn't dinner ready yet?"

I froze and quickly stood up. Valentine was swaying in the doorway. He was clearly drunk.

"Have you been thinking about your father again? Is that why you are so slow and worthless? Well, _I_ am your father now!" he yelled, sending a ceramic plate crashing into the floor. "Do you understand?!"

I nodded shakily, praying that he would leave soon. However, Valentine was undeterred. He went on.

"That poor excuse of a man that you call your 'father' is dead. D-E-A-D. Deader than a doornail."

My fear dissipated and was quickly replaced with anger. "He was not a poor excuse of a man! He was my father! And he still is!"

Valentine delivered a crushing blow to my jaw. I reeled and hit the floor.

"I'm your father now," he hissed. I glared up at him.

"Even if he's dead, at least he's in heaven. He'll never have to meet you, because you're going to _hell_," I spat. Valentine gripped my arm.

"Say that again."

I gulped. _Clary, why didn't you think before you said anything? _I felt faint but I stared straight at him and feigned confidence. "Go to hell."

The sting of his slap didn't come as a surprise, but it hurt nonetheless. I picked myself up and ran.

"That's right, run away like the little coward that you are!" he yelled after me.

Tears threatened to fill my eyes but I kept running. I paused to catch my breath under the eerie glow of a streetlight. The sun had gone down and it was now pitch dark outside. I examined my arm. It had bruised where Valentine had grabbed me. I could also feel my jaw aching. I was pretty sure there was a bruise there as well. When I put my hand up to touch it, I realized that it was also bleeding. Sighing, I spotted our college's Music Hall.

I raced up the steps, and peered through the window. There was a piano inside. My father had taught me how to play piano, and we used to sit together and play our favorite pieces. The nostalgia overcame me and my fingers itched to play the piano. I tried the door handle, and to my delight, the heavy metal door swung opened. I silently stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.

Sitting down in front of the piano, I let my fingers glide over the ivory keys. I remembered Jace's words: "Remember Fur Elise. Even though things might seem bleak for you right now, all you need to do is persevere. Things will become better."

Rummaging through the nearby cabinet, I found sheet music for Fur Elise. I sat back down and began to play. I made a few mistakes in the beginning of the song, but quickly caught on. The beautiful melody of the music resonated throughout the vast Music Hall.

With each note, my mood grew better and better. I forgot about Valentine and his anger. I forgot about missing my father. I forgot about the constant ache of not seeing Jace.

Suddenly, a sleepy voice broke through the harmonious music.

"Clary, what are you doing here?"

I stood up and looked around, searching for the owner of the voice. Jace emerged from the sofa in the corner of the room. His blond hair was disheveled.

"Jace?!" I exclaimed.

He slowly made his way to me, looking at me with an intense gaze.

"Jace, were you sleeping here?"

He nodded. _Oops._ "Sorry, I must have woken you up."

"No, it's alright… I haven't seen you in a while," he said. "Where have you been?"

I grinned; so he missed me too.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked, confused.

"No reason," I replied quickly.

"So, why were you playing my favorite song?" He gestured for me to scoot over, and sat down on the bench with me.

"Fur Elise is your favorite song? I-I was playing it because…" I trailed off. Why _was_ I playing Fur Elise? _Because you told me to remember it. Because you told me that everything would get better. Because I miss you. _But I couldn't say that. "I was playing it because the sheet music was here."

"Oh," he replied. "That makes sense." Thankfully he was still half-asleep and he didn't doubt my weak explanation.

"Yeah, um, why are you here?" I asked, eager to change the subject. Jace was silent for a while before he answered.

"My grandfather used to play on this piano for me," he responded simply. I understood him. After all, I had lost my father, and I still clung on to every memory I had of him. "Can you play it again?"

My fingers danced along the keys again. When I finished playing the piece I turned and saw that Jace was really close to me. Our shoulders were overlapping and our faces were almost touching. His eyes were closed because he was enjoying the music, but now they slowly blinked open. He turned his head towards me, and I realized that our lips were almost touching.

Instinctively, I tilted my face up. His soft eyes held mine as he moved closer to me. Our lips were level. I closed my eyes, waiting for his kiss.

But it never came.

"What's that?"

I opened my eyes and noticed he had moved away. I hid my disappointment. "Huh?"

"What's on your cheek? Why is it bleeding?" He looked concerned.

_I can't tell you about Valentine._ "Oh, it's nothing."

"Clary, what happened? It's bruised, and you have a purple bruise on your arm too."

"Oh, I um… tripped and… ran into a pole…" I said, unconvincingly.

Jace looked like he wanted to ask more, but he was interrupted by a flash of light. We both turned to look out the window. There was a campus policeman standing outside, waving his flashlight around into the Music Hall.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Students shouldn't be making out on campus!" he shouted.

"Crap," Jace muttered. He grabbed my arm. "Come on, there's a storage room over there. He won't find us there." I followed him into the storage cabinet. We both turned our ears to the door. I could hear the policeman open the door to the Music Hall and walk around, searching for students. I held my breath as he walked past the door to the storage room. I waited until the metal doors creaked again and the policeman left.

"Jace, he's gone. Let's go." I turned the knob, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Jace, it's locked! What are we going to do?" I asked frantically. When he didn't respond, and I spun around and realized that he was situated comfily on the carpeted floor.

"I guess we'll have to spend the night here," he replied nonchalantly.

"What?! But—" Jace interrupted me by putting a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered. I strained my ears and listened carefully. There was a quiet squeaking noise.

"They say that this storage room is haunted," Jace said quietly.

"Oh please, I don't believe in ghosts, Jace," I scoffed. His golden eyes turned to me.

"Then what's that sound coming from?"

We tiptoed around the storage room. The sound got louder and louder. Goosebumps crawled up my arm and I realized that Jace was right: it sounded like there was a ghost in here. Gulping down my fear, I clung onto Jace's arm as we searched for the source of the noise.

Then, in the corner of the room, I spotted a bright yellow canary.

Chirp! Chirp! The bird hopped around. I burst out laughing, hiding my earlier fear.

"Hey Jace, I found your ghost. It's a bird. Like Tweety. Chirp, chirp!" I imitated, enjoying the chance to tease him.

His face turned red. "What kind of bird makes a noise like that?" he mumbled.

I looked around and spied an open window. "It must have flown in from the window up there."

I placed the bird in Jace's hands. He examined the little creature. "I think it has a broken wing." He thought for a minute, before handing the bird back to me. He moved away and walked towards a big pile of boxes. After hunting around, he emerged with a small bird cage.

"A… bird cage?" I asked dubiously. "Why in the world is there a bird cage in the Music Hall?"

He shrugged. "My grandfather was a packrat, and he kept everything." He gently placed the bird into the cage. "Do you want to name it?"

I peered into the cage, watching the bright little bird hop around. The poor thing couldn't fly. "Beethoven. Let's name it Beethoven. When you told me to remember Fur Elise, you told me to remember that everything will eventually get better. This yellow canary is like a bright ray of sunshine. Even though it broke its wing, it's still cheerful and persistent."

"Wow. Deep," he responded, raising his eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and lightly punched him.

"If I'm going to have to spend the night here, might as well get comfortable," I muttered, sitting down along the wall. I hid my happiness as Jace sat down next to me and put his arm around me.

Hesitantly, I leaned my head against his shoulder. When he didn't move away, I smiled contently.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Jace shifted. "Hey, Clary?"

"Mhm?"

"Do you think you can come here every night and play music for me?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, we need to keep Beethoven alive! The bird, not the musician. I mean, Beethoven the musician is dead already. But we have to keep the bird alive and you might as well play music while we take care of him and everything, right?" He sounded flustered.

I gently nodded against his shoulder. "Sure."

"Great!" he replied enthusiastically, sounding relieved. "Come here tomorrow at seven then."

"Alright." I felt my eyelids getting heavy.

"Good night, princess."

* * *

I shook my head groggily. _Where am I?_ I opened my eyes and stared straight into Jace's sleeping face.

He was so hot. I could see why so many girls at our college had a crush on him. He had handsome features and a muscular body. Inhaling deeply, I couldn't help but giggle. Jace smelled so good.

"What are you giggling at?" he asked curiously. I jumped.

"You're awake," I said dumbly.

"Astute observation, Sherlock," he remarked. He stood up, stretching. "So how did it feel, spending the night with sexy god Jace Wayland?"

I rolled my eyes. "Terrible." I jumped to my feet and tried the door knob again. "Guess we're going to have to break down this door."

"No we don't!" Jace replied quickly. He handed me something. I looked at it. It was a ring of metal keys.

"Jace, what is this?" I asked, fake venom crawling into my voice.

"The keys to this storage room," he answered.

"Why didn't you tell me you had them?" I yelled furiously.

"You didn't ask," he responded simply. Glaring at him, I opened the door and tossed the keys back to him.

"Jace Wayland, I am _so_ going to kill you!" I screamed. He took one look at my expression and raced out the door. I was hot on his heels.

To be honest, I wasn't actually mad. I was having a blast hanging out with Jace. I chased after him.

**Third Person POV**

As Jace and Clary came sprinting out of the Music Hall, Sebastian was perched in the bushes, rapidly snapping pictures with his Nikon camera.

He checked the camera to make sure that he had good pictures, before taking out his cell phone.

"Hey, Maia, baby? I have some pictures of Jace and Clary. And they're pretty scandalous."

The voice on the phone chuckled menacingly. "Good job, honey. This is going to be fun."

**Thanks so much for the super nice, absolutely heart-warming reviews! They made me so, so happy! To be honest, I wasn't having a particularly good day, but your reviews completely lifted my spirits! I love you guys!**

**So the "big thing" I mentioned last chapter didn't really happen in this chapter... I'm sorry! I meant to include it, but this chapter was getting too long. Next time, I promise!**

**I also meant to update a lot earlier (thanks to your nice reviews!) but my computer was having issues and I couldn't get this chapter up. I'll make a deal with you guys: if I can get 10 reviews for this chapter, I'll update the next chapter by Sunday! Otherwise, I'll stick to my regular schedule of updating on Fridays. Review, review, review! **

**~BubblyFanatic**


	6. Chapter 6

**Jace's POV**

I ran to the baseball field, chuckling as I listened to Clary's footsteps behind me. I whipped around and stared into her smiling eyes.

"Jace Wayland! Oh, I am _so_ going to kill you! I can't believe you _forced_ me to spend the night with you!"

I folded my arms, pretending to be equally mad at her. "Oh please, you loved it."

She punched me in the arm as hard as she could. I pretended to cringe. "Hey! That hurt!"

Clary giggled. "You deserve it."

Rolling my eyes, I raised my arm, pretending that I was about to slap her. "You evil little girl," I joked.

When I saw the look in her eyes, I froze. Terror filled her emerald green eyes and she cowered. "Don't touch me, please," she whispered.

_What the hell?_ Pulling her into a hug, I realized that she was trembling. "Clary, I wasn't going to hit you. I was just teasing you."

I gently brushed her hair out of her face, and saw the fading bruise on her cheek. My brain slowly put everything together.

"Clary, does someone hit you?" I asked coldly. Whoever dared to touch Clary would receive my punches. I felt her stiffen before she shook her head frantically.

"N-n-no."

_That means yes. But who is it?_ A glance at Clary's traumatized expression told me that she wasn't going to tell me anything.

"Come on, Clary. I'll take you home. You can skip all of your classes today. I'll contact your teachers." She nodded numbly, and I carefully led her home.

As she pulled out her keys, an idea suddenly hit me. "Hey, Clary?"

Clary turned the key and pushed open the door. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a cell phone?"

"No…?" Clary replied hesitantly, surprised by my random question.

"Take this," I said gently, dropping my cell phone into her hands. "Use it to call me if you ever run into some… trouble." I glanced at her bruise again before hugging her. She stiffened in surprise before hugging me back gratefully.

"Thanks," she murmured, before disappearing inside her house. A woman with fiery red hair like Clary stepped outside.

"Jace, I'm Jocelyn Fairchild, Clary's mom. Thanks for bringing her home safely."

"You're welcome," I replied, before leaving. _I have to find a way to help Clary._

* * *

The next day, whispers greeted me as I stepped on campus. However, the whispers ebbed as soon as I stepped within hearing distance of the gossipers. I asked Alec about the whispers, but he cautiously sidestepped the question.

"Um, Jace… I have basketball practice today… I'll catch you later," he answered, before attempting to leave.

"Hold on, don't you have practices in the evenings?" I said suspiciously.

"Uh… yeah… I actually have to… um…" he stammered sheepishly.

"Spit it out, Alec. What's up?"

He wordlessly handed me a newspaper. Peering at the picture on front page, I felt a burst of anger as I realized that it was a picture of me and Clary walking out of the Music Hall. The headline read, "Principal's son involved in love affair with fellow classmate."

Anger boiling under my skin, I looked up at Alec. "Is this why everyone has been whispering about me?"

He nodded.

_Damn it… that means people are probably whispering about Clary too. She hates to be in the center of attention… she must be scared to death. I have to find her._

Making my way across campus, I felt stares focused on the side of my head. A huge mob of people was standing around the track. Curiously, I approached them.

"Well, look who it is. Welcome, Jace, we were just talking about you." Maia flipped her brown hair and gave me a seductive wink. I rolled my eyes.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Maia rose, towering in her four-inch tall high heels. Her scarlet lipstick glistened in the sunlight as she spoke.

"I'm guessing you saw the newspaper article about you?" She didn't pause to hear my answer and continued on, gesturing towards the crowd. "Well, we sure did. Someone raised a question: Does Jace actually love this girl, or is it all just a misunderstanding? I believe that it was all just a misunderstanding and you don't even like the girl. And now that you're here, you can give us the truth. So, Jace, was I right?"

I glared at her in disbelief. "You're crazy."

"Oh please, Jace, I think _you're_ the crazy one for breaking up with me. But… that's an argument for another day. Tell us the truth, Jace."

_What do I say? If I tell her that I love Clary, jealous girls like Maia might hurt Clary. I can't put Clary in harm's way. Yet, if I say that it was all a misunderstanding—a lie—then Clary will eventually find out and hate me forever._ I looked up at the expectant crowd and made my decision. Clary's safety was the most important.

"Maia, it was _obviously_ a misunderstanding. How could I possibly fall in love with someone like her? She's so plain… there's absolutely nothing special about her. The only reason we were together is because Alec dared me to flirt with her and win her heart." I lied, hiding a cringe when I noticed Maia's triumphant expression.

"Good, I knew you never liked that tramp!"

I resisted the urge to slap Maia. How dare she call Clary a tramp? I masked my anger by rolling my eyes and turned to leave, but Maia's voice called me back.

"Since I was right, shouldn't I get a prize?"

I shrugged. "No."

"Unless… unless you actually like her?" Maia said slowly, venom crawling into her voice. Startled, I realized that I didn't know what Maia was capable of. For all I knew, she was the one who posted the pictures of us. _No. I can't let Maia turn her anger on Clary._

"Of—of course not."

Maia grinned. "Then you won't mind giving me a reward? I want to watch you… run ten laps around the track."

"Yeah, sure, piece of cake," I responded casually.

"Wait, I'm not done yet," Maia called. "You have to run in these."

Maia held up her four-inch bright pink stilettos and swung them tauntingly. "Prove that you aren't lying." Whispers rose amongst the crowd:

"Do you think he's actually going to do it?"

"Well he _has _to. If he doesn't do it, then it means that he actually fell in love with the girl!"

"Ohmahgawd, I am _so_ jealous of Clary."

"I can't believe Jace would fall in love with a girl like _her._ Hey, I have an idea. Jace is the most popular guy at our school; he wouldn't date a girl who has no friends! Let's shun her. If everyone hates her, he won't like her anymore, and one of us has a chance!"

I cast a disgusted glance across my audience.

Swallowing my hatred for Maia, I grabbed the shoes. Strapping them on, I began my run. The blistering heat was almost unbearable, and I kept stumbling in Maia's cursed high heels, but I kept running. _For Clary._

It took half an hour to finish all ten laps. It was a waste of time, and yet, the stupid crowd hung around, waiting for me to finish.

As I victoriously threw the shoes into the air, I gazed out at the students in the crowd. Their excited expressions showed me that they were eager to watch drama unfold. Yet, someone in the back of the crowd stood far apart from the other people. Looking closely, I realized that the girl with tears running down her face was Clary. She took one look at me and raced away.

_Oh no…_ I tried to run after her, but the high heels prevented me from getting far. I threw the shoes off and tossed them to Maia.

She turned to me and had a satisfied expression on her face. "Watching the captain of the school hockey team run ten laps in my bright pink stilettos? Priceless! So, Jace, can I—"

"Maia, I played your little game. I have to go somewhere. Bye," I shouted before chasing after Clary's fleeting figure.

**Clary's POV**

_He doesn't like me after all. It was just a dare. It was all… it was all just a game._ I ran away from the crowd, thinking about Jace's words.

_Clary, you can't cry. Don't cry. _Blinking back tears, I sprinted into the safety of a classroom. No one would bother me there.

But I was wrong. The second I stepped into the classroom, a group of girls stared at me.

"Hey, isn't that—"

"I think it is! It's the girl from the newspaper! The one who thought Jace was _actually_ in love with her!"

They began to snicker. I couldn't stop the tears from forming.

"Still think you're better than us?" they taunted, throwing food at me. I glared back at them defiantly, but before I could say anything, Simon came to my rescue.

He slapped one of the girls across her face. "What was that for?" she shrieked.

Simon stared down at her. "You disgust me. How could you be so cruel to a fellow student? So what if she fell for Jace's stupid tricks? You still don't have the right to make fun of her!"

The girls took one look at him and fled. Simon turned back to me. "Clary, are you alright?"

I nodded through my tears. "I'm fine."

He looked doubtful. "I'm fine, I promise!" I insisted, forcing myself to smile at him.

But then Jace came running into the classroom, and I was completely _not fine_ again.

I immediately began talking to Simon. "So, the weather looks nice today. Do you want to go on a picnic? I haven't had lunch yet, and I'm starving."

Poor Simon looked absolutely perplexed. "Uh…"

"Clary," Jace interrupted. I ignored him.

"So, what do you think Simon? It'll be fun!"

"Clary," Jace said again.

"I saw a really nice, grassy park near my house. It looks like the perfect place for a picnic!"

"Clary," Jace said impatiently.

I ignored him, and waited for Simon's answer.

"Uh… Clary, that sounds like a great idea! We should go for a picnic today!" Simon said, grinning.

I smiled back.

"But uh," Simon continued. "I think Jace needs to talk to you."

_Simon! Who's side are you on?! _I shot daggers at him before slowly turning to Jace.

"Hello, how are you?" I greeted coldly.

"Clary, don't be like this!" he protested, acting like he genuinely cared.

"Sorry, I wasn't under the impression that you cared at _all._ After all, the only reason you even _talk_ to me is because of a stupid dare, right?"

Jace opened his mouth to argue, but I continued on.

"But it's okay. Because the only reason _I_ talked to you was also because of a dare. My friends dared me to flirt with you. So we're even now." _Wait… Clary, what the heck are you saying? Stop lying to Jace!_

But I couldn't stop. I needed to prove to Jace that he didn't hurt me at all. I couldn't be weak in front of someone who had deliberately hurt me.

Jace took one look at my expression and ran off.

The tears that I had been holding back finally ran down my face, washing away my makeup. "Why?!" I wailed. _Why doesn't Jace like me? Why did I just lie to him? Why did our romance—our perfect love—turn out to be so fake?_

Simon was silent, before he hesitantly asked, "Your friends didn't dare you, did they?"

Crying, I shook my head. "They didn't," I whispered. "They never did."

**Sorry guys! I know it's been weeks since my last update... I rewrote this chapter a million times, because it felt like the story was moving too quickly and I was introducing too many conflicts at once. Thanks for bearing with me! I'm going on vacation in a week, so I won't be able to update... but I'll try to post one more chapter before I leave. Please review! I love you all :)**

**~BubblyFanatic**


	7. Chapter 7

**Clary's POV**

Simon was silent as we walked together to the park.

"You like him, don't you?" he asked, unexpectedly.

_Yes._ "Of course not. How could I like him? He's a mean, condescending, arrogant brat who thinks that every girl will fall in love with him!" I shouted, almost dropping the basket of food that I was carrying.

Simon raised his hands in surrender and backed off. "Whoa, sorry, I was just curious…"

Sheepishly, I lay down our blanket and sat down. "Sorry."

He brushed off my apology and reached into the basket for a sandwich. "So… who do you like then?"

"Channing Tatum."

Simon raised an eyebrow at me, and I burst into laughter.

"Okay, who do you like?" I asked Simon, expecting him to say Megan Fox or another famous actress.

He paused for a minute and mumbled something. "Huh?" I asked.

"I-I don't know how to tell her that I like her," he confessed.

"Hm… muster up your courage, look her in the eye, and say 'I like you.'"

Simon rolled his eyes. "That's horrible advice." Before I could respond, he took a deep breath and leaned closer to me. His lips almost brushed my ear. "Clary, I like you."

Immediately pulling away, I took a bite out of a strawberry. Chuckling, I smiled at him. "You're almost as funny as me," I teased.

The corners of Simon's lips turned down, but he gave me a forced smile. "Uh… yeah… I'm such a comedian," he said half-heartedly.

_Why is Simon acting so weird? He never jokes around like this…_ Sensing the awkward atmosphere, I tossed a grape at Simon and giggled when it bounced off his nose.

"Hey! What was that for?" he protested indignantly.

"I thought you liked to eat grapes," I replied seriously, before breaking into a grin. Simon rolled his eyes and threw one at me.

Focusing on the green projectile, I positioned myself to catch it, leaning backwards…

Until I fell flat on my back. My head was cushioned my Simon's lap, and I found myself staring up into Simon's chocolate brown eyes. His face came closer until our noses were almost touching.

_Well this is awkward…_ "Uh…" I murmured uncomfortably. After all, I was close enough to _kiss_ my best friend. That's just… weird.

Suddenly, Simon was flung away from me. His face jerked backwards and I found myself lying on soft green grass. Sitting up, I realized that Simon was on his feet. Correction: he was completely dazed, and looked like he was about to collapse.

Jace was here. His normally peaceful golden eyes were now blazing fire, and he was tightly grabbing a fistful of Simon's striped t-shirt.

"Get your hands off of her," Jace hissed, practically spitting into Simon's face. Simon clenched one hand and adjusted his glasses with the other hand.

"It's none of your business," he replied calmly, before delivering a punch to Jace's chest. Jace didn't even flinch.

He pulled Simon closer. "Stay away from her."

Simon glanced at me, before turning back to Jace. "Why? So you can break her heart?"

Jace's lightning-fast fist struck Simon once in the stomach before flinging him to the ground.

"Stop it!" I shrieked. I pushed Jace out of the way and peered at Simon. His eyes were closed, and when he opened them, they were unfocused.

"I'm alright, Clary," he muttered, before standing up and head-butting Jace. Unfortunately, Simon wasn't strong enough, and Jace didn't even budge. He simply stood there, standing like a brick wall.

"Is that all you got, Lewis?" he taunted, before aiming another punch at Simon.

"Stop!" I yelled, standing between them. "Leave Simon alone."

Jace looked at me in disbelief. "He tried to _kiss_ you."

"Why do you care?" I asked furiously. I was surprised when I saw a hurt expression appear on Jace's face, but it quickly disappeared. _Tell me you love me,_ I thought desperately. When he didn't respond, I hid my crestfallen expression and turned away. "Go away, Jace. I don't want to see you."

His calloused hand gripped my wrist. "Clary, I need to talk to you."

I paused. "You have five minutes."

Jace glanced at Simon. "I need to talk to you _privately_," he insisted.

"I trust Simon more than I trust you. We can have our conversation right here," I responded harshly. Jace's grip on my wrist tightened.

Next to me, Simon stood up and placed a sweaty hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay, Clary. I need to go," Simon said, before enveloping me in a hug. "Take care of yourself," he whispered into my ear. "Call me if Jace gives you any trouble."

I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Thanks."

When I met Jace's eyes again, they were seething. "Are you in love with Simon?" he demanded.

I ignored him and twisted my wrist out of his grip. "What do you want to say? You have four minutes and twenty-seven seconds left."

"The dare… everything I said to Maia was a lie. I—"

Cutting him off, I glared at him. "I'm not a naive little girl, and I'm not easy to trick. I'm not falling for your lies. Trust me, I know what you are. Boys like you are deceptive _liars_ who just want to get girls in bed. Well, I'm sorry that I'm not Rihanna, but I don't love the way you lie. Jace, I don't want to see you ever again."

Jace spun me around and pressed his lips to mine. For a second, I couldn't think. My brain froze, and my heart thumped faster and faster. Jace's soft, tender lips crushed mine.

And then the gears in my brain started to work again, and I shoved Jace as hard as I could. "What do you want from me?" I yelled. Tears dripped down my face, and all I could think was, _This golden-haired boy is so romantic… and he'll never be mine._

"Clary… I-I like you. A lot! I think you're the most beautiful, most compassionate girl I have ever met, and I wouldn't want to be with anyone else but you," he whispered. "I lied to Maia in order to protect you. Maia is possessive and jealous; I was worried that she would try to hurt you!"

I couldn't think of anything to say. For once, my tongue failed me and I couldn't even respond with a clever retort. Then, I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Sorrow and guilt flooded every inch of his honey-colored eyes. I made my decision.

Exhaling, I slowly walked closer to him until we were standing right next to each other. Standing tiptoe in my black Converse, I gently tilted my face up and kissed him. When I stepped away, I registered the shock on his face.

"Jace," I said slowly, "if you're lying to me this time, I'm never going to forgive you."

He pulled me into a tender hug. "I would never lie to you," he murmured into my red hair. "I love you too much."

Jace's warmth and love filled my heart with happiness. Suddenly, I remembered Jace's expression when he saw me and Simon.

"Oh right… there's nothing between me and Simon," I asked hastily, unintentionally breaking our contented silence. Jace stiffened, and I bit my lip. _Dammit Clary, you said the wrong thing._

"I know," he insisted, tightly wrapping his arms around me. "Sorry. It's just that…I'm a control freak, and I'm possessive of the things I love, like hockey, music, and… you."

He pulled me into another kiss, and I decided that if Jace was a liar, then he was a damn good one.

**Jace's POV**

Sitting in the wet grass with Clary in my arms made me feel like the happiest guy on Earth. I rested my head on her soft red hair and gave a contented sigh.

All of a sudden, notes from _Fur Elise_ started playing, and my legs started vibrating. Clary blushed and we untangled ourselves. "Sorry, it's my cell phone," she mumbled, before answering the call.

After a terse exchange, Clary hung up, looking troubled.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"Nothing."

I lifted her chin until I was gazing into her emerald eyes. "Clary…"

She pursed her lips before turning away. "My dad's on a drunken rage," she mumbled. "My mom told me not to go home tonight. I have to find a hotel to stay in."

_Maybe her dad is the one who gave her those bruises…_ I immediately cleared my head. _Jace, don't think about that right now. The most important thing is keeping Clary safe. _"Why don't you stay at my house?"

Seeing Clary's contorted expression, I couldn't help but laugh. "Right, you probably don't want to be in the same house as the Principal of our school. Let's spend the night at Alec's house then."

Before she could protest, I pressed a finger to her lips. "I'm your boyfriend now, right?"

She smiled and playfully pushed my finger away. "You can't just _declare_ that you're my boyfriend. That was so unromantic."

Grinning, I helped her stand up. "I'll make it up to you," I promised, before calling a cab. "Let's go."

* * *

Alec's astonished look was priceless.

Clary and I had rung the doorbell, and Alec answered the door, gaping when he saw Clary. Then he looked at me in disbelief, before noticing that Clary and I were holding hands. He looked like he was about to faint.

"Dude," I said, still laughing. "Clary and I need a place to stay."

"You and Clary? Since when were you guys going out?"

Before I could say, "_Since today",_ Clary interrupted me. "We're not going out," she said, winking at Alec. "He didn't ask me out."

Completely bewildered, I watched as Clary stepped into Alec's house. "Dude, since when do girls care so much about being romantically asked out? All the other girls I dated didn't give a crap."

Alec grinned. "You're dating Clary. She's different. Congratulations, man."

Around dinnertime, the three of us went out for sushi. When we returned to Alec's house, he led Clary to a bedroom decorated in pink. _Everything_ was pink. The wallpaper was pink, the bed frame was pink, the dresser and desk were pink… even the door was pink. Clary raised an eyebrow before giving Alec a peculiar look.

"I didn't know you were so… obsessed with pink," she remarked. Alec turned red.

"Dude, I have a sister," he replied quickly. Clary didn't look convinced. "Jace, come on, bro, back me up."

I was enjoying Alec's discomfort, but I nodded. "Yes, sir! Alec does, indeed, have a twin sister. Her name is Isabelle Lightwood. She goes to a different college than we do," I announced with a salute. Clary chuckled and Alec looked irritated.

"Alright, you lovebirds, I'm going to bed. Night."

Tucking Clary into bed, a feeling of unease settled in my stomach as I noticed her prominent bruise again.

"Hey, you want to hear a story?" I asked hesitantly.

"Jace Wayland, how old do you think I am?" she teased, before nodding happily.

"So, once upon a time—"

"Don't you think that's too generic? 'Once upon a time'? Jace, I thought you were more creative!" she complained.

I threw a fluffy pink pillow—yes, it was pink. That's right, even the pillows were pink— at her. "Shut up and listen!" I commanded impatiently.

"Anyways. Once upon a time, there was a princess. She had pretty blonde hair and was the perfect princess. However, one day, an ogre kidnapped her. She screamed for help, but the ogre simply smiled. 'You can scream all you want,' he growled, 'but nobody will come save you.' Unfortunately, the princess misunderstood. You see, her boyfriend's name was 'Nobody'. She thought that if she screamed 'all you want', her boyfriend would save her. So the little princess kept screaming 'all you want', but no one came to her rescue. The end."

Clary frowned. "That's lame. Aren't bedtime stories supposed have happy endings? And I think you're thinking of the wrong story. In The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus tricks the Cyclops by pretending his name is 'Nobody', and—"

I interrupted her with a kiss. When I pulled away, I looked straight into her eyes. "Look, Clary, I know that I am an awful story-teller. But my point is, if you are ever in trouble, you don't need to scream 'all you want'. You just need to scream 'Jace Wayland', and I'll come save you."

Clary unconsciously touched her bruise. "Thanks, Jace." Her feisty and rebellious attitude disappeared. As I kissed her on the forehead, I couldn't help but notice how vulnerable she was.

"Good night, Clary. Sleep tight. I won't let the bed bugs bite you."

I fell asleep outside of Clary's door, guarding my princess from harm.

**Hurrah for quick updates :) So I'm leaving for vacation in... two hours! I'll be gone for two weeks. Unfortunately, my dad caught me writing this chapter at 3 am, and he went berserk. He was like, "Why are you spending so much time writing, if no one even reads your story?!" It was really upsetting, and he even pointed out that 30-something reviews for six chapters was really crappy. Sigh. :/ That put me in a pretty bad mood. But don't worry, I still love all of you... (even if no one reads this, like my dad said). **

**Anyways, I guess what I'm getting at, is, please review if you're still reading! Also, I'm running out of ideas for what to write next, so if you have any ideas (or you just wanna chat with me xD) feel free to review/PM me. Be back in two weeks.**

**~BubblyFanatic**


	8. Chapter 8

**Clary's POV**

I woke up at the crack of dawn, stretching. Tiptoeing through the hallway, I searched every room, but Jace was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, I felt a wave of insecurities flood over me.

_He's already gone. He's probably in bed with another girl right now. Clary, why did you trust him?_

Alec interrupted my thoughts. "Mornin', Clary! Jace made breakfast."

My despair vanished and I jumped up, running down the stairs two at a time. Jace had cooked an elaborate breakfast. There was a variety of food: omelets, eggs Benedict, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, breakfast casserole, and a bowl of fruit.

Alec laughed at my wondrous expression, and explained, "Jace didn't know what you liked to eat, so he made everything."

"Well, where is he?"

Alec shuffled uncomfortably. "He's… uh, busy."

Another flash of anxiety struck me. _What if he really is with another girl right now?_ I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. _Calm down. Trust Jace. Everyone else might have left you, but Jace is different._

"Clary, eat up!" Alec handed me a fork and a plate of waffles.

"No thanks," I said quietly. "I'm not hungry."

The huge lock on the front door unlocked with an audible click, and a beautiful girl with raven-black hair and chocolate colored eyes pranced into the house.

"Alec, I'm _starving._ What'd you cook for breakfast?" she called. When she saw the breakfast, she squealed in delight.

"Oh my gosh, this is awesome!" Sweeping across the marble floor, adorned in a pink summer dress and bright pink stilettos, she took a seat in a pink chair next to me. When she flicked her hand to swat away a fly, I realized that her nails were also pink.

"I'm guessing you're Isabelle?"

She nodded slowly. "Ooh! Are you Alec's girlfriend? Brother, I approve, even though her clothes are kinda unfashionable… and that _hair_. It looks like a bird's nest!" Isabelle shivered.

I looked down and frowned; my plain white t-shirt and tattered denim jeans were incomparable to Isabelle's immaculate outfit.

Alec kicked Isabelle under the table. "First of all, she's not my girlfriend. She's Jace's girlfriend. And Izzy, don't be so rude! Can't you see that you're making her uncomfortable?"

"But Alec," she moaned. "her awful outfit is making _me_ uncomfortable."

Alec's forehead furrowed, and gave her a menacing glare. Before I could reply with a snarky remark, Alec's cell phone rang.

"Hello? Jace?"

_Jace?_ I immediately sat straighter and leaned closer to Alec. I could barely hear what Jace was saying.

"Hey Alec, I saw Isabelle when I was leaving. Tell her to be nice to Clary."

I blushed. _How considerate…_

"Oh, and Alec? Ask Clary to meet me at the Belle at 6 tonight."

Alec turned to me. "Uh, Clary, Jace wants you to—"

"What's the 'Belle'?" I interrupted.

"Oh, it's a French restaurant near us. The food is pretty good."

"Sorry, I don't like French food." I mentally kicked myself. _Clary, why are you playing hard-to-get? _Another voice inside me murmured, _Because I want to see if he's serious. I don't want to give my heart to someone who doesn't care about me._

"Uh… okay." After a few more quick exchanges, Alec slid his phone back into his pocket. "He's going to be here in thirty minutes. You guys can figure things out."

I nodded.

Isabelle could hardly contain her excitement. "Ohmygod, Clary! Thirty minutes isn't enough!"

"Enough… to do what?"

"To give you a makeover! Come on!" she shrieked excitedly, pulling me into her room. "Okay, so it's supposed to be 70 degrees tonight, so a short summer dress and high heels will be appropriate."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Isabelle—"

"Call me Izzy!"

"Uh, okay. Izzy, I'm going to freeze in a summer dress!"

"Don't worry Clary. Think about it: if you're cold, then he has the opportunity to give you his jacket. Wouldn't that be so romantic?" she said, sighing in delight.

Izzy dragged me into the closet. "I'm a bit taller than you, but we should be about the same size. Which dress do you want to wear?"

I scanned the row of thirty dresses. They were _all_ pink. Spotting a pale green dress in the corner, I pointed at it. "That one looks good."

Izzy gave me an irritated look. "But it's not _pink_!"

"That's the point," I responded tersely. When Izzy pulled out the dress, I smiled. It was a simple sleeveless dress.

After I put it on, Isabelle frowned. "It's too plain," she complained.

"It's fine!" I insisted, but she was already rummaging through her drawers.

"Here," she said, handing me a dark green belt. She also pulled out two gold heart-shaped earrings and a matching gold necklace.

Isabelle directed me to a chair and grabbed a basket full of hair products: de-tanglers, hair gel, a curling iron, and various combs.

Twenty minutes of pain and torture later, I looked up into the mirror and gasped. Somehow, Izzy had managed to tame my wild red hair and arrange it into a waterfall braid. She had curled the tips of my hair, so that the voluminous waves cascaded down my back.

"Sexy. The colors emphasize your green eyes," she approved, before grabbing my hand and running downstairs. "I almost forgot about your shoes!"

She pulled out a pair of white heels. "That's perfect. Sorry, I would give you gold shoes, but I ruined them in the mud last week," she muttered, grumbling. The door bell rang, and Izzy pushed me into the hallway.

"Work your magic, Clary!"

I stepped onto the tile, wincing at the loud clacking sound that my shoes were making. Opening the door, I immediately found myself mesmerized in Jace's golden eyes.

"Clary… you look gorgeous," he breathed, offering his hand.

I blushed and took his hand. I staggered in my shoes and almost tripped, but Jace kept a firm grip on me. He led me to his silver Lexus and opened the door for me.

"So, you don't like French food?"

"Well, I suppose it's okay, but ever since Simon took me out to eat escargot, I've avoided French restaurants. He didn't tell me that I was eating snails until _after_ I vomited everything up!"

Jace's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. "Do you often eat with Simon?"

"Well, not really. We've been out a couple of times, but…" I quickly lapsed into silence after I glanced at Jace's eyes. His golden eyes were darker than usual, and fury danced along the corners of his pupils.

When I looked up again, I noticed that Jace was relaxed. "I suppose I shouldn't be angry at him. After all, he protected you when I wasn't there," he murmured. "How does Italian food sound?"

I nodded happily. "Sounds great!"

Minutes later, Jace pulled up in front of Luigi's Cuisine. The waiter seated us in a private room. After jotting down my order of alfredo fettucine and Jace's filet mignon, the waiter left us alone. At a snap of Jace's fingers, rose petals floated into the room from the air vents in the ceiling.

"That's so cliché!" I criticized, but internally, I was leaping with joy. He was so romantic!

"Well this is probably more cliché, but I'll risk humiliating myself," he said with a wink. Pulling out a guitar, he began to sing.

"Look into my eyes- you will see

What you mean to me.

Search your heart, search your soul

And when you find me there you'll search no more.

Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.

You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.

You know it's true:

Everything I do, I do it for you."

My heart swelled with every note. Who knew that Jace was such a good singer? Who knew that he loved me this much?

He eventually finished with:

"I'll be there

I'd walk the fire for you

I'd die for you

Oh, yeah.

I'm going all the time, all the way."

**A/N: This song is "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams.**

Jace put down his guitar and slid out of his seat. Stepping towards me, he grabbed both of my hands and lowered himself onto one knee. "Clary… you turned my world upside down when I met you. My life was meaningless and boring, but now I have a purpose. You are my purpose. I want to make you happy. You are the reason my heart pumps. Without you… well, quite frankly, I'd probably die. So, Clary, will you be my girlfriend?"

I didn't realize that tears were dripping down my face until I embraced Jace. "Of course. I love you, Jace."

He kissed me. "Was that romantic enough?" he asked, mumbling against my lips.

"Yes, my lovely boyfriend. It was."

After I enjoyed my pasta and Jace devoured his steak, we left the restaurant. Our fingers interlocked and I held on tight.

_I don't want to lose you. _Jace led me into the streets, where hundreds of kiosks were waiting.

I curiously looked around, admiring various trinkets and jewelry.

"Hey, look," Jace called, directing my attention to a pair of rings. They were made of silver. Each of the rings had half of a heart engraved on it. On the inside of both rings, there were the words "ego et tu, in amore, saeculi".

The old street vendor noticed our interest and smiled, exposing a few yellow teeth. "_M'hijo,_ are you interested in these rings?"

"Yes. What does the inside say?" Jace asked curiously.

"The words are in Latin. 'Ego et tu, in amore, saeculi' means 'You and I, in love, forever.'"

"That's awfully bad grammar," I muttered quietly.

The Spanish vendor simply chuckled. "_Sí. _Indeed. _Pero,_ what can I say? These rings are meant for two lovers. Bad grammar cannot hinder true love, _de acuerdo?_ As long as two people each wear one of these rings, they can't be separated."

"How much are they?" Jace inquired, taking out his wallet.

"25 _dólares. _But for you and your girlfriend, I'm willing to part with them for $15."

After receiving his money, the man flashed another toothy smile. "_Buena suerte!_ That's Spanish for 'good luck'. May you two live long lives together."

Jace smiled at me and gave me the left-half of the heart. He gently slipped the ring onto my right ring-finger. "This is my promise to you: I'll keep you safe, Clary. I'll never stop loving you."

Blushing, I slipped the other ring onto Jace's hand. "This is a promise that if you ever break your promise, I'll break your nose."

Jace chuckled and whined, "Why can't you say something about how much you love me?"

I grinned and tip-toed to kiss him. "Fine. I love you to death, Jace Wayland." We eventually veered away from the raucous street vendors and ended up walking near a deserted alleyway. A few streetlamps flickered and cast their eerie light on us.

"Clary?" a voice called.

Jace and I simultaneously turned around.

**Jace's POV**

A muscular man stepped out of the shadows, glaring at us. Clary tensed and turned as white as a sheet. She grabbed my arm and almost fell.

_What the heck? Why is she so scared?_ I placed a protective arm around her.

"Can I help you?" I asked politely.

"Clarissa Fray, is that you?" the man demanded hostilely, stepping closer.

Clary took a step back, shivering.

The man stormed towards us, grabbing Clary roughly by the shoulder. "What are you doing outside so late… and with a boy?"

"Hey now, there's no need to be so violent," I said cautiously, pulling Clary out of his reach.

"Shut up, kid!" He shouted venomously. "Hand over that dumbas—I mean, hand over my adorable little _dumpling_. Are you harassing her? Who are you, anyways?"

Although his words sounded concerned for his daughter, his tone of voice proved that he didn't care about Clary at all.

I stood up straighter and found that I was a couple of inches taller than the stranger. "I'm Jace Wayland. Who are you?"

"Valentine Morgenstern, Clary's dad," he grumbled. "But that's not the point, boy!"

With a sudden movement, Valentine clenched his fists and swung at my face. He caught me by surprise, and landed a solid punch to my forehead. Reeling, I saw stars. As I collapsed to the ground, I watched Valentine grab Clary's arm.

I could only watch, dazed, as Valentine raised his hand and slapped Clary. The force of the slap sent Clary staggering.

Valentine grabbed a nearby beer bottle and started drinking its contents. "That's your punishment for making a boyfriend."

"And this—"He growled, smashing the beer bottle against a streetlight pole. "This is what you get for being a bad daughter. You didn't make dinner for me tonight."

Valentine grabbed the jagged beer bottle and swung it at Clary. She tried to dodge, but was unable to escape the beer bottle. Crying out, she fell to the ground. Blood started to soak through her t-shirt.

"Damn you," I yelled, getting back on my feet. The world was spinning, but I focused on Valentine. "Leave her alone! What kind of father are you?!"

He swiveled his head towards me. "I still need to punish you. Stay away from my daughter!" Valentine grabbed the remnants of the glass bottle and threw them at me. I managed to jump away from the largest chunk, but a small shard of glass clipped my elbow.

Ignoring the blood gushing out of the wound, I frantically looked around for a weapon. Grabbing a shovel from a construction area, I ran straight at Valentine.

He was drunk, and he could hardly keep his balance. He barely noticed me before I slammed the flat end of the shovel into Valentine's temple.

He staggered once before falling down, unconscious.

"Clary," I gasped, crawling towards her. Her left cheek was red from Valentine's slap, and her green dress was slowly turning red.

Worried, I placed a hand on her cheek. She held my hand. "I'm fine, Jace. Some of the glass cut me, that's all."

Her emerald eyes glowed under the dim streetlight as she focused on my forehead. "You have a bruise…" she murmured, before gasping when she saw my elbow. "You're bleeding!"

She jumped to her feet and helped me stand up. "Come on, I'm going to take you to the hospital."

Frowning, I leaned on her for support. "Doesn't your wound hurt?"

Clary smiled at me sadly. "I'm used to it by now."

I kissed her. "Don't worry, Clary, I'll keep you safe."

Somehow, I was going to get Valentine locked behind bars.

**I'm finally back from vacation! Thanks so much for the support; it really means a lot to me. I take my reviewer's words very seriously, and it made me so happy to hear that you guys like my story so much! Did you like the Clace moment in the beginning? Hehe :) In general though, my stories are conflict-driven, so I was compelled to add in the fight at the end. Sorry, let me know if you want me to include more Clace fluff. Also, credits to _Dru-girl_ who gave me the idea for the fight at the end. I thought it was a great idea and couldn't help but add it in. Hopefully I'll be updating soon; I've already outlined the next chapter but I want to hear your feedback and suggestions before I start to write it.**

**~BubblyFanatic**


	9. Chapter 9

**Jace's POV**

The view from the window near my hospital bed was crappy.

Clary had checked me in before giving me a quick peck on the cheek and disappearing. "I'll be okay," she had whispered. "I don't need a doctor."

And now I was sitting all alone in the hospital, because they needed to keep me under close observation for 24 hours or something. I remembered Clary's bleeding dress and a fresh wave of worry immediately washed over me.

Calling for a nurse, I quickly ripped the IV needle out of my arm. "Nurse, I want to check myself out of the hospital."

She gave me a shy smile. "Sorry, Mr. Wayland. The girl who brought you here specified that you weren't allowed out of the hospital until she came to pick you up."

Gritting my teeth, I glared at her. "What kind of hospital is this? You won't even let a patient make his own decisions?"

The woman faltered. "But sir, I really can't—"

I decided to try another tactic. Running a hand through my hair—because chicks are supposed to love that—I gave her a flirtatious smile. "After you check me out, wanna go out for ice cream?"

She blushed and immediately skipped out of the room. "I'll be back with your paperwork, Mr. Wayland!"

As soon as she left the room, I cringed in disgust. _Dude, Jace, you just tried to seduce a woman twice your age. And you have a girlfriend, too. What are you thinking?_

Then I frowned. _Well, I'm doing it for Clary. I have to find her to make sure she's safe._

I quickly filled out the paperwork and apologized to the nurse, "Sorry, I realized that I left my wallet at home, so I can't take you out for ice cream. See you around."

_Clary was right. Jace, you lie too much._

Calling a cab, I was stumped when the driver asked me where I wanted to go.

"Umm…" _Think, Jace. Where could Clary be? She probably wouldn't go back to her own house because her father is there… she's probably still at Alec's house! _"1094 Institute Way, please."

Minutes later, I was running up the steps to Alec's house. I pounded on the door until Isabelle opened it.

"Hello?" she muttered groggily, still in her pajamas.

I gave an exasperated sigh when I checked my watch and realized that it was noon. "You're so lazy, Izzy. Did you seriously _just_ wake up?" I muttered, before pushing past her. I ran up the stairs and searched for Clary, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn… where could she be?" I murmured frantically.

"Hey, bro, wassup?" Alec greeted, giving me a fist bump. "Why are you here so early?"

"Oh please, it's noon already!" I retorted.

My friend peered at me curiously. "Dude, you're never awake before two pm… what's gotten into you?" After a moment of thought, he nodded knowingly. "It has something to do with Clary, right?"

"How in the world did you know? Oh, never mind. Where's Clary?" I asked impatiently.

"No idea. I haven't seen her. Oh, that brown-haired kid with glasses came over early this morning and borrowed some clothes from Isabelle for Clary. He said he was Clary's friend."

_It must have been Simon._ "Thanks, bro."

I raced out of the house, running past a completely bemused Izzy, and returned home.

"Hey mom, where do you keep the confidential student records?"

My mother gave me a level glance over her cup of morning coffee. "Where were you last night?"

"I was out with friends. Mom, where is it?"

"That explains why you have a huge bruise on your head, Jace."

"Oh, it's nothing. I accidentally hit my head on Alec's bedpost. _Mom._ Where is it?"

"I can't tell you. They're _confidential_ for a reason, Jace."

Frustrated, I slammed a fist into the wall. "I'm not going to stalk one of the cheerleaders or anything; I just need to check something."

She gave a resigned sigh and pointed at a bookshelf. "They're placed alphabetically."

I grabbed the binder labeled "L" and flipped through the pages until I found Simon's home address. I wrote down the address on a yellow sticky note and ran out of the house, flagging down another cab.

"Take me here," I commanded breathlessly, thrusting the piece of paper into the driver's face. He gave me an irritated glance before kicking the gas pedal.

Simon didn't open the door until the doorbell rang twenty times.

The minute he saw my face, he threw a punch at my stomach. Even though it was a weak punch, I gasped in surprise.

"What kind of asshole boyfriend lets his girlfriend get beat up?" he demanded.

I straightened up and tried to push past Simon, but he moved to block me. "Get out of my sight," he hissed.

"Simon…" I said slowly.

"What?" he responded belligerently.

"Why do you have… why do you have a _Barbie_ doll sitting on your sofa?"

"What?" he repeated, swinging his head around to look at the "Barbie doll". The minute he turned away, I snuck through the doorway.

"That was the oldest trick in the book, Lewis!" I called as I ran up the stairs.

I heard his frustrated shout and his footsteps as he thundered after me.

I poked my head in all of the bedrooms, desperate to find Clary. Finally, I found her resting in the bedroom at the end of the hallway.

"Clary!" I cried happily, before sitting down next to her. She looked pale but she smiled when she saw me.

"Jace! Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?"

I shrugged before tapping her nose. "Miss Fray, the nurse told me that I'm not allowed to check myself out."

"I knew you'd try to sneak out, so I tried to keep you there. Guess my ingenious plan didn't work," she responded, pretending to be disappointed.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, concerned.

"I'm fine!" she chirped, but Simon cleared his throat behind us.

He looked grumpy. "I can't believe you're in my house… why did I let you walk into my house…?" he muttered to himself.

"Clary, you are _not_ fine!" Simon stated calmly. "And don't try to argue with me; I checked your temperature this morning. Having a 103°F fever isn't normal."

I pressed a hand to Clary's forehead and realized that she was scorching hot. "Clary!"

She waved me away. "I feel fine."

"Clary, I'm your boyfriend. Let me take care of you."

She looked like she was about to protest, but I kissed her before she could speak. Simon made a strangled noise and walked away.

"Do you like macaroni and cheese?"

Clary nodded. "I'll be right back," I murmured, kissing her on the forehead.

When I entered the kitchen, Simon was standing by the counter. He gave me an annoyed look. "When are you leaving?"

"Whenever Clary's fever goes down," I replied shortly, gathering ingredients together.

"Jace Wayland, you are such a conceited jerk. What in the world does Clary see in you?"

"I don't know. She deserves much more..." I responded thoughtfully.

Simon scoffed. "That's the first sensible thing I've heard you say."

I ignored him and quickly finished cooking the macaroni. "Simon, are you free this afternoon?"

"Whoa, Jace… I thought you liked Clary… I mean, cheating on her with another girl is one thing, but cheating on her with _me?!_ That's—"

"Simon!" I said, exasperated. "That's not what I meant! We were attacked by Clary's father last night. I want to go to Clary's house and look for evidence against him."

"Just because you're a law student doesn't mean you're a real lawyer, you know," he muttered angrily. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. Clary's father is dangerous and he should be kept behind bars."

"I knew you weren't an idiot, Lewis," I said, grinning. Grabbing the bowl of pasta, I hopped up the stairs and sat down on the bed next to Clary. "Open wide." I fed her a spoonful of pasta.

"It's delicious, Jace!" she said happily, before scrutinizing the bowl of pasta. "What are those brown blobs?"

"Escargot."

I almost fell to the floor, laughing, when I saw Clary's disgusted expression. "I'm just kidding!" I managed, between laughs. "They're blobs of feta cheese."

She swatted me and grabbed the spoon. "You're an evil, evil boy. The Oompa Loompas are going to come and kidnap you."

I looked at her in disbelief. "Oompa Loompas? The orange guys from Willy Wonka?"

"Yeah! They kidnap bad kids and teach them a lesson. You, Jace, need to be taught a lesson."

Laughing, I kissed her on the nose. "If you don't finish your pasta, the Oompa Loompas are going to take you away too. Don't forget to take some Advil. Simon and I have stuff to do; we'll be back in a few hours."

I dragged Simon out of the house and we biked to Clary's house. Clary's mother opened the door.

"Hello…" she greeted awkwardly, before brightening when she recognized me. "Oh, you're Clary's boyfriend!"

I nodded, secretly gloating over Simon's obvious jealousy.

"And you're Simon, right? Clary told me so much about you."

Simon nodded, blushing.

Clary's mom smiled. "You guys can call me Jocelyn, if you want. Did you guys need anything?"

"Could we come in and perform an inspection?" I asked politely.

"Why?" Jocelyn asked, her confidence faltering.

"I know that Valentine is abusive," I said gently, watching Jocelyn carefully.

"Well, that was blunt," Simon muttered under his breath. I shot him a dangerous glare.

Jocelyn immediately stood up. "I'm sorry, Jace and Simon, but I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave."

"What?" Simon exclaimed, confused.

"I-I just remembered that I have a doctor's appointment today," Jocelyn said quickly, pushing us out the door.

"Why are you protecting him?" I asked quietly.

Jocelyn met my eyes. "Because I love him."

"But he hurts you!" Simon cried.

"Love hurts."

Jocelyn slammed the door in our faces. Dumbfounded, Simon gave me a helpless look. "Now what, Cactus?"

"Cactus? Is that my new nickname or something?"

"I was in Boy Scouts when I was a kid, and I tripped and accidentally sat on a cactus. It hurt like hell. So I'm naming you 'Cactus', because you're a huge pain in the ass."

Sighing, I ignored his explanation. "Let's wait for Jocelyn to leave, and then we can sneak in."

Simon looked horrified. "Cactus, that's breaking and entering! You could get thrown in jail!"

"Child abusers get at least 5 years in prison," I murmured. "Clary deserves to live without being scared of Valentine."

**Clary's POV**

When Jace returned, he was holding a Nikon camera. He checked the bowl of pasta and gave me an approving nod when it was empty.

"What's the camera for?" I asked curiously.

"Do you want the truth or the excuse?"

"The truth," I said immediately.

"Simon and I went to your house to take pictures of evidence that your dad is an abusive asshole."

A bunch of emotions flashed through me: fear, worry, apprehension, and panic. Jace looked into my eyes and kissed me. Pulling away, he said confidently, "Don't worry, Clary. Simon and I are going to help you put him in jail. He won't be able to hurt you."

_But he's my father… I should protect him…_ Jace's affectionate expression quickly changed my thoughts.

"Clary, let me protect you."

I hugged him tightly. "I will. Don't ever leave me."

"I won't."

**I'm not going to lie; this isn't my best chapter. After rewriting it a billion times... I'm still not happy with it. But I wanted to get it posted quickly, because school starts tomorrow for me, which means that I will have zero time for writing. I know, it makes me pretty sad too. So I might be going on a short hiatus while I adjust to my new heavy course load, and I might not be able to update until next month or so. I'll try my best to find time to write though!**

**I know I say this a lot, but please: review, follow, or favorite! It always makes my day when I get a notification of a review/follow/favorite. I love you all :) I don't know if school started for you guys yet, but if it did, I hope you're enjoying your new school year so far! **

**~BubblyFanatic**


	10. Chapter 10

**Jace's POV**

Straightening out my black tuxedo, I gulped, hoping my nerves would disappear. It was the day of Valentine Morgenstern's trial. And I was designated to be Clary's lawyer.

What have I gotten into?

As a law student… well, let's just say that my grades are okay. Who am I kidding? My grades are below average. I got D's on all of my undergraduate courses last year. To be honest, I've just never had the motivation to study hard and learn. It didn't matter to me, anyways. My mother was the school principal, and she would never allow the teachers to give me an F. Since I didn't study, I just hung out with my hockey team and flirted with girls. I constantly had one night stands, and the list of girls I have dated could go on and on.

And yet, somehow, Clary changed all of that. She was special: all of the other girls blushed and stuttered when they saw me, but Clary put up a _fight_. The first time I saw her, she stormed off of the public bus and yelled at me to move my car. She was so hot when she was pissed off.

For the first time ever, I fell head over heels for a girl. And she wasn't even _remotely_ attracted to me. I almost entirely stopped flirting with other girls (key word: almost. After all, it's hard to change bad habits quickly.) The fact that I could lose Clary in an instant scared me to death.

Clary Fray. Something about her was so special. I felt that I had to protect her from her abusive father. As soon as I told Mother about Clary's situation (omitting the fact that I, Jace Wayland, was deeply in love with her, of course), she decided to take the case to court. However, she decided that I needed to improve my skills, since I was failing all of my classes, and told me to intern under the local law firm for a month before representing Clary in court.

I don't think she realized that she was making a huge mistake, but Clary's safety was on the line. Without even complaining, I accepted and set to work. I studied the textbooks and historical analysis of child abuse cases from 9 am to 8 pm every day for a month.

Clary Fray. Because of her, I was willing—no, _eager_—to study more in a month than I have studied in my _whole life_. She was so special. And I loved her.

As I straightened out my tie, I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. _Jace Wayland, you can't screw this up._

I grabbed my briefcase of evidence and ran out the door, grabbing my car keys and checking my watch: 7:50 am. The court case started at 8:15 am, and I would be royally late if I didn't hurry my ass to Clary's house.

Hitting the gas pedal, I soon screeched into Clary's driveway. She was already waiting for me. She was wearing a plain black dress and shiny black high heels, but she still managed to take my breath away. Her wild red hair fell into her eyes as she stumbled towards me, almost tripping in the process.

I jumped out of the car and helped her inside the car. "How are you feeling?" I asked, taking my place in the driver's seat.

She took a deep breath and smoothed out her dress. "Nervous."

Despite my shaky nerves, I let out an easygoing laugh. "Don't be. We're going to win the case. I won't let us lose."

"I know. I trust you, Jace."

The rest of our car ride was silent. I circled around the parking lot, trying to find a spot. The clock on my car read 8:09, and I gave a frustrated sigh. I glanced at Clary, and she looked a little car sick from my endless circling.

"Clary, why don't you get off the car first? I'll be back after I find a parking spot."

She gave me a gratuitous smile and got out. I drove away. Thankfully, a sleek black Mercedes-Benz pulled out of a parking space and left. I gave the driver a relieved wave before maneuvering into the spot. Stepping out of the car, I ran to Clary.

She was shaking badly when I found her. "I saw my father," she whispered hoarsely, leaning on me for support.

I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. "Everything will be okay." I asked the receptionist for a cup of water and gave it to Clary to calm her down.

After a few minutes, the color returned to her cheeks and I calmly led her into the court room.

A burly security guard stood in front of the wooden doors in front of the court room.

"I'm representing the plaintiff, Clarissa Fray," I announced.

Without a word, he opened the door and we stepped inside. The room was full of people: mostly students at our college who wanted to watch drama unfold. They must have volunteered to be part of the jury.

I gently led Clary to our table. Frowning, I met eyes with the lawyer who was representing Valentine. He was a large man with bushy eyebrows. His lips were set in a menacing smirk.

He stood up and approached me, nodding politely. "I'm Raphael Santiago. Nice to meet you."

"Jace Wayland. It's a pleasure." _Not._

Raphael turned his attention to Clary. "Good morning, Ms. Fray," he said politely, an odd gleam twinkling in his eye. He shook her hand. "We may be enemies in court, but I hope that I will have the pleasure of making friends with you outside of this room."

I immediately stepped in front of Clary. "The case is starting, Mr. Santiago," I interrupted rudely. I didn't like the look in his eyes as he observed Clary.

He gave a curt nod and headed back to Valentine.

A woman stood up—she must be the bailiff—and announced, "All rise. Department Four of the Superior Court, Judge Joseph presiding, is now in session. Please be seated."

The judge's ringing voice resonated throughout the room. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We are calling the case of Clarissa Fray versus Valentine Morgenstern in the subject of child abuse. Are both sides ready?"

The judge went through the opening court procedure, before turning to me. "Would you like to make an opening statement, Lawyer Wayland?"

I nodded and stood up. "Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury: the defendant has been charged with the crime of physically and mentally abusing a minor. The evidence will show that Valentine Morgenstern has constantly attacked his daughter, Clarissa Fray. The plaintiff no longer feels safe in her own home. I will show you the safety precautions Ms. Fray has set throughout her own house as well as full evidence of bodily harm. The evidence I present will prove to you that the defendant is guilty as charged."

**Clary's POV**

I kept wiping my hands on my dress, but they were still as sweaty as ever. My nerves crashed against each other. I glanced at my father and his lawyer, and then back at Jace's confident figure. If we didn't win this case, my father would torment me forever.

The opening procedures flew by in a blur. Jace presented his case and showed pictures of evidence. The first picture showed the three locks on my bedroom door.

"If Ms. Fray felt safe and secure, would she install these locks on her bedroom door? For most people, one lock would suffice. However, only a truly scared and fearful person would install not one, but _three_ locks to protect herself."

Next, Jace showed a picture of the bruise on my cheek.

"Mr. Morgenstern attacked Ms. Fray and gave her this bruise."

He showed another picture of me lying on the floor, covered in shattered glass. With a shudder, I remembered what had happened. That was the night when Valentine ambushed Jace and I and attacked us with a broken beer bottle.

Jace concluded his speech and sat down next to me, looking smug.

"I think we're going to win," he whispered softly, discreetly gesturing towards the jury. Indeed, they were all whispering with looks of shock on their faces.

Then, Raphael stood up.

"Your honor, Lawyer Wayland is manipulating the facts. My client, Mr. Morgenstern, was simply trying to discipline his daughter. That's what parents are for. If they do not punish their children, our world would be filled with unruly children, and eventually unruly adults."

Jace moved to stand up, his golden eyes filled with anger. He clenched his fist before restraining himself and sitting back down.

"There'll be time for objections later," he muttered to himself.

Raphael glanced at Jace and looked pleased when he saw that Jace was still sitting.

"Furthermore, you cannot prove that the bruise on Ms. Fray's cheek came from Mr. Morgenstern. Perhaps she simply fell down and hit her head on something, resulting in the bruise."

Jace broke into a satisfied grin, but he carefully erased it from his face before standing up.

"Objection, your honor. I have a doctor's report, stating that Ms. Fray's cheek contains 80% broken capillaries, which can only result in an injury of brute force. An accidental collision could not possibly cause such an injury."

A security guard walked over and Jace handed over the report. The judge looked over the report and glanced at Raphael. "This doctor's report is valid."

Raphael's face turned red and flustered.

I smiled, feeling victorious. The rest of court case flew by in a blur. I nervously made my statement, with Jace by my side. Before I knew it, the jury had made a decision and the judge was handing out the verdict.

"The jury finds the defendant guilty. Valentine Morgenstern, you are sentenced to seven years in jail and termination of parental rights of Clarissa Fray. Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen. Case closed."

I turned to Jace and joy filled my eyes. Hugging him tightly, I let tears of happiness spill onto his immaculate tuxedo.

"I love you, Jace, thank you so much!"

_*****-6 months later-*****_

**Clary's POV**

The wind blew through my fiery red hair as I rode Jace's orange skateboard down the hill. Grinning, he caught me as I reached the foot of the slope.

"Did you like it?" he asked with a toothy grin.

"Definitely. Now I finally understand why guys like to skateboard so much."

We walked back to my house, hand in hand. Mother opened the door and ushered us into the kitchen. "I prepared a bowl of watermelon for you two."

Grabbing a fork, I stabbed a large chunk of watermelon. "Say 'ahhh'!" I cooed to Jace. When he opened his mouth, I guided the watermelon into my own mouth.

"Yum, that was great!" I murmured dramatically. Jace pouted.

"Clary," he whined, "I'm huuuuungry."

I grinned and leaned closer, kissing him on the lips. I fed him a chunk of watermelon.

"Thanks baby," he grinned.

My mother pretended to gag. "As long as you two are under my roof, you can't have any public displays of affection."

Jace turned red. "Sorry, Jocelyn."

I laughed. Even though my mother pretended to be angry, I knew that she was happy for us. She loved Jace like he was her own son.

"Jace, it's already three," my mother reminded. "Didn't you say that your mom wants to see you?"

He scrambled to his feet. "Oh yeah! Clary, I'll see you later, okay?"

Jace gave me a peck on the cheek before racing outside.

"He's so silly," Mother muttered.

I smiled. "That's true, but I still love him."

My phone suddenly rang, and I heard Simon on the other end.

"Hey Simon!"

"Clary, do you want to get some ice cream?"

"Sure! It's so hot outside—ice cream sound great."

"Okay, I'll pick you up in five minutes."

Hanging up, I turned to my mom. "I'm going to go get some ice cream with Simon."

"Alright, honey. Enjoy your Saturday."

Soon enough, Simon and I were getting in line for ice cream. The ice cream parlor was packed. I asked for a single scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip while Simon settled with three scoops of Triple Stripe Chocolate. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged.

"It's my favorite flavor; don't blame me for eating three scoops of it! Besides, I've never seen it at any of the other ice cream parlors, so I have to eat as much as I can," he protested.

I peered at the ice cream and realized that it was milk chocolate, with stripes of white chocolate and 90% dark chocolate. "You're such a chocolate fanatic, Simon," I chuckling.

"Remember when you loved to play with bubbles when you were a kid? You were a bubbly fanatic, Clary," he retorted.

"That comeback makes no sense whatsoever."

"So?"

I rolled my eyes and took a seat at a table near the corner.

Suddenly, a flash of movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned and saw a mop of golden hair. The boy with golden hair was locked in an embrace with a beautiful brunette. I could only watch as the girl wrapped her arms around the boy's neck and crashed her lips into his mouth. Sickened, I turned away from their make-out session.

Simon was following my gaze and almost dropped his ice cream on the table.

"Is that Jace Wayland?"

My Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cone fell to the floor, and my white Converse sneakers sank in the green mess as I ran out of the ice cream parlor.

Shouts of "Watch where you're going!" and "Who do you think you are?!" flooded through my eardrums as I raced outside.

But I didn't care. I just saw my boyfriend kissing another girl.

**Hi guys! So my "hiatus" didn't turn out to be very long :) But I can't guarantee weekly updates anymore. The only reason I was able to churn out this chapter was because we have a wonderful three-day weekend and I had time to write. The good news is, I'm already halfway done with Chapter 11, so that should be up next Tuesday. Since school is so busy, I might forget to post it on Tuesday, so just drop me a PM/review and remind me that "BUBBLYFANATIC! It's Tuesday already! Where's Chapter 11?!" Oh, did you guys catch my little incorporation of my username in the fanfic? teehee. Anyways, thank you guys so much for reviewing and supporting this story.**

**A big shoutout to _Ciarainwonderland_ for taking the time to review _every single chapter._ That was a huge gesture and it honestly made my day :)**

**I know the drama is kind of slowing down, but I don't want to rush the plot. Let me know if you have any plot suggestions, or if you want me to add in some fluffyness between Clary and Jace.**

**I'm setting a goal for 100 reviews! Hopefully we can reach that goal soon :) Just 15 more to go! **

**~BubblyFanatic**


	11. Chapter 11

**Jace's POV**

A blur of red ran past my table. Looking up, I realized it was Clary. Her face was streaked with tears and a sickening feeling filled my stomach. _Did she see me?_

I turned around and saw a very angry Simon following Clary.

_Damn._

I pushed Maia away and followed Simon out the door.

As I ran through the mob of passing pedestrians, the events of the day came flashing back to me:

_I skateboarded back home, where mother was waiting for me. _

"_Darling, remember when I told you that we were going to sell the Music Hall?"_

_I pursed my lips. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation. "Of course. You aren't going to sell it, right?"_

"_I found an alternative. But I'll need your cooperation."_

"_I'll help you," I responded immediately. "You know how important the Music Hall is to me. I'll do anything to save it."_

_My mother smiled, satisfied. "Do you remember why we need to sell the Music Hall?"_

"_Financial issues."_

"_Exactly. The CEO of Shine, the leading jewelry corporation, is willing to donate funds to help us renovate the entire campus and preserve the Music Hall."_

_I paused for a second. "Why? What's the catch?"_

_She chuckled softly. "You're so smart, Jace. The CEO is Mr. Donald Roberts. He has a daughter who is the same age as you."_

"_No," I hissed. I could see where this conversation is going. "I'm not going to date his daughter so that you can get financial support."_

_My mother was about to answer when our butler strolled into the room._

"_Ms. Lightwood, Mr. Roberts has arrived."_

_My mother nodded, and a tall man walked in. He was dressed in a sharp tuxedo. When he stepped away, my eyes widened as I came face-to-face with one of my ex-girlfriends._

"_Good afternoon, Ms. Lightwood. Hello, you must be Jace. I've heard a lot about you. This is my daughter, Maia Roberts."_

_Maia shimmied over to me and sat down, linking her arm into mine._

"_Daddy, Jace and I have already met."_

_My mother raised her eyebrow. "You have?" she murmured in surprise, giving me a hard look._

_I shifted uncomfortably. _

"_So, Jace," Mr. Roberts said enthusiastically, "I was part of the jury when you were the attorney for the Clarissa Fray vs. Valentine Morgenstern case. You were fantastic!"_

"_Thanks…"_

"_I have handpicked you as my daughter's boyfriend. What do you think? When do you two want to get married?"_

_I almost threw up my lunch. I struggled to find a way to respond respectfully. "Um, Mr. Roberts, I don't really know Maia that well yet…"_

"_Oh, that's okay! You guys can also date for a few months before deciding on marriage!"_

_Before I could respond, Maia bounced in her seat. "Sounds great, Daddy!"_

_And before I knew it, Maia was dragging me to my car. "Let's go get some ice cream, Jacey!"_

"_Jacey?" I muttered, a hint of annoyance streaking into my voice._

"_Yeah!" Maia chirped._

"_Like Lacey… That's not a very manly name."_

"_I know, baby. But I still love you!"_

_I gritted my teeth and __mentally__ screamed, "Somebody kill me now!"_

_When we arrived at the ice cream parlor, I almost wanted to turn back. There was a huge line. Maia dragged me over. Twenty minutes later, it was finally our turn to order. "I'll have a scoop of Cherry Galore," Maia said, before turning to me. "What do you want, Jacey? I remember that you like Dark Chocolate Dream!"_

_The masculine cashier snickered at me. I frowned. "I don't want any ice-cream."_

_Maia giggled. "Oh, I see what you mean! Can we have TWO scoops of Cherry Galore instead? We can share, Jacey!"_

_I bit back my anger. We took our ice cream and found a booth._

"_Come here, Jacey!" Maia shrieked with laughter as she dabbed ice cream on my nose with her spoon._

_I reached for a napkin to wipe it off. "Stop, Maia," I said tiredly._

_She grabbed my arm. "I'll wipe it off for you."_

_Maia stood up and pretended to trip over the chair. She launched herself towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her face came closer and she kissed my nose._

"_There you go, baby," she whispered seductively._

_Suddenly, Maia's lips crashed into mine, and I realized that I was kissing my ex-girlfriend._

"_What the hell," I tried to yell, but she held me against her._

_When I finally managed to pull away, I saw a tear-stricken Clary run by._

That's right. I managed to hurt Clary _again._ Ladies and gentlemen, I am a despicable human being.

I raced after her, which wasn't hard because she was leaving trails of green footsteps wherever she was going. It was probably her favorite ice cream flavor, Mint Chocolate Chip. I followed the footsteps and Simon's tall and lanky figure came into view. I sprinted faster and caught up with Simon.

"Simon!" I panted. "Wait up!"

He stopped running. As soon as I caught up to him, he turned around and swung a fist into my jaw.

He was definitely taking karate classes or something. A year ago, his punches were terrible. But now, they hurt like hell.

"You are an asshole," he hissed.

"Bro, it's not what it looked like!"

"Oh really."

I glared at him. "I'm serious!"

"Why don't you explain it to Clary?"

I gave him an exasperated look. "I was trying to, before someone came over and smashed his fist into my jaw."

"You deserved it. I won't let you hurt Clary."

"I know," I said. When Simon finally moved out of my way, however, Clary was nowhere to be seen.

Simon noticed my confused look and sighed. "She probably hid in one of the shops or something. Go look for her. But if you hurt her again, I'll break your pretty nose."

I patted Simon on the back before running off. "I owe you one!" I called.

He scoffed. "You owe me _way_ more than just one."

I ignored him and ran off. The green footprints disappeared, which probably meant that all of the ice cream on Clary's shoes had fallen off. I passed by the bakery and jewelry shop before stopping in front of a dimly lit store.

_That's interesting. I've never seen this store before. _I cautiously walked in and heard Clary's beautiful voice.

"Wow, that's really cool!" she was saying. I looked around and saw a sign: "Capture the Moment: Photography."

_A photography store?_ I walked closer and saw an old man talking to Clary. The old man had completely white hair, and he reminded me of the old man in the Pixar _Up_ movie.

"Yeah. My wife passed away a year ago, and this bracelet helped me cope with the loss."

"If only my boyfriend would love me that much," Clary mused softly.

I felt a flare of anger. _But Clary, I really do love you that much! Why can't you see it?_

The old man sounded curious when he continued speaking. "I'm sure he does."

_You bet I do! _I liked this old man already.

"I don't know. I saw him kissing another girl today. She was absolutely gorgeous, and I guess I'm not surprised that he would pick her over me," Clary replied sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

I couldn't take anymore. I cleared my throat. "Clary?"

She turned her head to see me before looking back to the old man. "Thanks for showing me that bracelet!"

He nodded wisely. "Go talk with your boyfriend. I'll see you later, young lady."

Clary walked straight past me, her white sneakers still tinged with mint green.

"Clary, wait!" I shouted, following her out the door.

I chased her to the neighborhood park. "Clary, let me explain!"

"Let you explain what? I don't want to hear how much you _adore_ Maia Roberts!" Clary screamed back at me.

"Listen! I don't like Maia at all! It's all an elaborate plan that my mother came up with. Our school is on the verge of a financial crisis, and Mother set me up with Maia because Maia's father is a big business hot shot with a bunch of money. I honestly don't like Maia!"

Clary's angry expression softened. "Jace, you _kissed_ her. I don't know what to think!"

"She forced herself on me! Clary, my entire heart belongs to you. There's no more room for me to love anyone else. You know that, right?"

"Jace…" she said quietly. "But what will happen to the Music Hall if you don't date Maia?"

I gave a small sigh of relief: Clary had forgiven me. "I don't know, but I'll figure it out!"

I reached for Clary and was about to embrace her in a hug when Maia came bounding up to us.

"Jace! There you are! I've been looking for you _forever!_ Oh hi, Clary! What are you doing here?"

I rolled my eyes. "Maia, why don't you wait for me on the car? I'll be there in a second."

"But—"

I gritted my teeth before forcing myself to say, "Maia, _honey_, why don't you wait on the car for me, _sweetie-pie_." I shot Clary a look to say, _"Just bear with me, Clary. I just need to get her out of the way."_

Clary looked like she was going to protest, but she just turned away in silence. Maia grinned at me.

"Okay, Jacey-Wacey!" she exclaimed before skipping away.

I turned back to Clary, but she silenced me with a furious expression. When she spoke, her voice was calm.

"Don't get me wrong, Jace. I understand that you are in a serious predicament. But I can't force myself to watch you date Maia. I love you, and I don't want to make things difficult for you, but you have to make a decision: it's Maia and the Music Hall or me. I'll understand if you want to save the Music Hall. We can still be friends."

She turned around and stalked into the shadows of the trees.

_What just happened. Doesn't Clary know that I love her?!_

Determination filled me and I walked to the car. _I'm going to break up with Maia and fix all of this._

I stepped into the gas, ignoring Maia's babble about how great the ice cream was, and drove us home as quickly as possible.

Escorting Maia into the room, I was relieved when Mr. Roberts stood up and said, "Thank you so much, Ms. Lightwood. Thank you, Jace. It's getting late and we should leave."

The living room quickly emptied out and our butler led the way outside. Mother and I sat down in silence.

"Mom, I can't date Maia."

She gave me a level glance before sipping her cup of coffee. "It's because of that girl, Carrie or something, isn't it?"

"Her name is Clary," I corrected, before realizing my mistake. "Wait…"

"Oh, don't give me any of that bullshit, Jace. The minute you asked me to help her sue her father, I could tell that you had feelings for her."

I awkwardly shifted my gaze to the floor. "Oh."

"Jace, you can't date her. You're the Principal's son! You have a reputation to withhold. And Cathy… Cathy's just an ordinary girl."

"Mom, her name is _Clary._ And she's not ordinary! She's special. And I love her."

"But Carly can't help you save the Music Hall, can she? On the other hand, _Maia_ can resolve all of our financial difficulties."

"Mother! I don't care. I love Clary, and I don't like Maia at all. Why do you have to use me as a pawn in your business aspirations?!"

My mother jumped to her feet furiously. "Jace Wayland. Don't you dare talk to me like that."

I stood my ground. "You need to understand that I love Clary. I won't date Maia. In fact, I'll go to her house right now and explain to Mr. Roberts that I can't date his daughter."

"Don't you dare."

"Watch me."

As I jumped out the door, a sudden headache racked through my brain and I collapsed to the floor.

"Jace! Jace, are you okay?" My mother shrieked, running towards me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I murmured. "Just feeling a bit… lightheaded. It's nothing. I've been getting these awful headaches for a while now."

"Jace! Jace?! Jace Wayland!" She repeated frantically. "How are you feeling?"

My eyes rolled to the back of my head and I heard her yell, "Someone call 911!" before I fell unconscious.

**Gosh it's been way too long since I updated! School has just been insane, and I don't know when the next update is coming! I've been staying up until 3 am this past week to get this chapter written, so please bear with me, my lovely reviewers :) Anyways, aren't you guys glad that Jace didn't cheat on Clary, hehe. Sorry for ending with another cliffhanger, but it was the perfect place to stop! The next chapter might be delayed because these two weeks are going to be super busy for me. I hope you guys are having a fantastic school year so far! Is anyone going to a high school Homecoming dance? Those are always super fun!**

**Review, follow, all that good stuff :) Thanks to _Siobhan.22_, by the way, who favorited this story yesterday. I got the email alert and I realized "OH MY GOD I HAVEN'T UPDATED MUSIC OF LOVE!" Also, would you like me to list the names of all of my reviewers for each chapter? I never did it before because I thought that it would distract you guys from my actual story, but let me know!**

**Oh yeah. GUYS MOL (my new abbreviation for this story) HIT 100 FOLLOWERS OMG :) I love you guys.**

**~BubblyFanatic**


End file.
